Title: A Near Miss
Review: Take a heart-broken Iranian immigrant, an unfulfilled, wealthy woman of "a certain age," and a bright but aimless college student. Mullin's willingness to examine their thoughts and feelings in this character-driven novel is admirable, and at points she succeed quite nicely in conveying the alienation and empathy found within complex relationships. That being said, ultimately a writer's job is to tell a good story. Mullins deserves credit for daring to write about the inner lives of her characters. No proverbial car chases, missing babies or serial killers here. But as this leaves us with only the characters themselves to consider, this book might have benefitted from a slightly less tentative rendering. Mullin invents a great cast but doesn't give them quite enough to "say." With a bit more courage and color, this could have been a great book; hopefully this talented author will try again.
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