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Reviewed by:
  • Small Damages
  • Karen Coats
Kephart, Beth . Small Damages. Philomel, 2012. [304p]. ISBN 978-0-399-25748-3 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 10-12.

Reeling from the death of her father, Kenzie is bitterly convinced that her mother is determined to erase all memories of him. When Kenzie becomes pregnant, her mother and boyfriend attempt to persude her to terminate the pregnancy, but she resists, feeling that the baby is a part of her father. Her mother calls on some contacts in Spain, finding a place for Kenzie to stay for the duration of her pregnancy as well as adoptive parents for the child; Kenzie is then whisked away from her plans for spending a last summer with friends at the beach to an unfamiliar, starkly beautiful landscape where she is surrounded by people who, while not unfriendly, are taciturn and gruff, bearing the scars of tragic pasts. Kephart always walks the line where verbal artistry meets story; here she tips decidedly toward the artistry side, creating a lush and loving portrait of the life, people, and foods of Spain, with Kenzie's presence there and her dilemma of an unplanned pregnancy clearly secondary in importance. Kenzie's situation leaves her steeped in loss and isolation, but in contrast she is surrounded by men who rear bulls for fights in Madrid, gypsies who fill the summer evenings with haunting music, and a fiercely sensitive elderly cook who was thwarted in love by a wartime separation. The pace [End Page 24] is languid, laden with sophisticated symbolism and exotic detailing that require, and fortunately repay, patient reading. Armchair travelers who find their yearnings for romance satisfied in place rather than story arc will appreciate the subtlety of Kephart's homage to a country she loves.

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