Hank & Chloe by Jo-Ann Mapson (review)

Reviews 371 Hank iff Chloe. Byjo-Ann Mapson. (New York: HarperCollins, 1993. 310 pages, $20.00.) A contemporary love story set in the rural canyonland ofSouthern Califor­ nia,Jo-Ann Mapson’sfirstnovel, Hank (sfChloe, isboth intelligentand heart-felt. Forty-something Hank Oliver teaches Greek and Roman mythology at the local community college. Thirty-something Chloe Morgan is a part-time wait­ ress, horsetrainer, and would-be recluse. Both Hank and Chloe are closet romantics. Time to put together a livable or meaningful life in the traditional sense (marriage, kids, vacation trips, etc.) is running out for Mapson’s title characters. Hank anticipates the loss of his teaching position and, in turn, his self­ esteem, because classical mythology or folklore is not relevant in the latetwentieth century community college curriculum. While lacking a college edu­ cation, intuitively-wise Chloe, to her confused regret, realizes that her horse and her dog equal the sum total ofher emotional life. In the first several chapters, Mapson’sHank and Chloe seem stereotypical or cliched: the timid college professor and the rough-tough cowgirl. Once Mapson manages to introduce Hank and Chloe to each other and get them in bed, the characters and the story take off. Hank and Chloe, in turn, face many challenges to their newfound relationship including his doting parents, death of her horse, truth-telling about their pasts, and fear ofcommitment. Through relevant detail and strong narrative, Mapson transforms Hank and Chloe into three-dimensional characters. Mapson’s strengths also include the ability to evoke or “bring to life” the tale’s particular rural remnant of Southern California, without turning either harsh or unduly sentimental about pristine countryside threatened by urban development. The book’s setting is thinly populated backcountry not yet spoiled byreal estate developers, though time isrunning out and the roar ofthe bulldozers can be anticipated. All told, Hank tjf Chloe is quality summer reading for middle-aged babyboomers . It features interesting, well-developed major and supporting charac­ ters, a good 1990s plot built around matters of the heart, plus a strong sense of place. One disclaimer isperhaps needed for the cynics among us—Hank & Chloe is a love storywith a happy ending. JAMES B. HEMESATH Adams State College ...