Sweet Lamb of Heaven

This new work from Pulitzer Prize finalist Millet (Magnificence) offers essentially two stories in one, and they don't sit comfortably together. Married to faithless and manipulative Ned, who virtually ignores her and their only child, Lena, Anna walks away from their Alaska home, ending up at a remote but somehow charmed hotel in Maine. Ned is not about to let her go, however, particularly as he is planning a run for state senate and needs the pretense of a supportive family for the campaign. He is downright creepy in his insistence and ability to track and harass "his girls," reminding us of the lengths some people will go to craft their own stories and control others. Folded into this plot is the mystical tale of Anna hearing voices upon Lena's birth, which leads her to others like her and the understanding that deep language belongs to all sentient creatures yet generally gets lost to humans. Dominant Ned, the enemy of such communication, can enter Anna's mind and bend it in ways that would be persuasive in an sf novel but don't work here.