Life & love, such as they are

"The meat loaf looked just like Frank's head. Ella hadn't meant to do this, but now that the resemblance was coming out - she gave the loaf a ketchupy pat - she was quite pleased." After close to a decade of living with Stephen, her college sweetheart, Ella Vaporsky, graphic artist and would-be painter, has had the misfortune to fall in love with Frank, accomplished photographer and all-too-married man. Her confidantes are brassy Ave, professional mooch, and prim, nervous Cynthia, professional violinist and closet drunk, who find themselves vying for the attentions of quiet Burton, a conductor who's far more comfortable orchestrating instruments than intrigue. As they try to help, hurt, elude, and connect with one another, these players make variously sad and comical - but consistently memorable - music together.

As in her highly praised first book, The Right Bitch, Shapiro writes with rare intuition about men, women, sex, and betrayal. In Life and Love, Such As They Are, she trains her deft wit on the messy affairs of the heart, soul, and body, achieving a boldness and wisdom all too rare among contemporary novelists.