Blue Light Hours

DEBUT A mother and daughter are separated for the first time in their lives. The mother lives in Brazil, works in an office, has limited income and education, and an absent husband, while the daughter has won a scholarship to a prestigious Vermont college, her passport to a new future. The mother fears she’ll lose her daughter, that she’ll never return home. Readers follow the daughter’s experiences during her first year abroad and her long talks with her mother via Skype. One time, they drink whiskey together while talking; another time the mother teaches the daughter how to make her grandmother’s famous chicken soup. Then the mother makes changes: she tosses out a chair she no longer uses; she gets a dog, then realizes it’s a mistake; goes on a date, ditto. She eventually gets to visit her daughter in her new apartment in Boston. When it’s time for her to leave after they spend a week together, they trade clothes so they can wear part of each other next to their skins. Their bond is still there, strong as ever.