How sad that this beautiful, important collection of stories is already out of print, having only been published in 1995. With such "important" writers as Susan Sontag and Paul Monette and David Leavitt as contributors, this compilation is one that must be read and savored. The title refers, obviously, to the way that AIDS has forced itself into the daily lives of all of us. Who among us does not know someone who is now ill or who has already died of this disease? In point of fact, several of the writers in this volume are dead. But the volume is not a polemic. It is a wonderful, moving, at times funny, entertaining collection. My personal favorite is "In The Gloaming" by a writer I had previously never encountered: Alice Elliott Dark. Write to Citadel Press and get this book re-printed. A portion of its sale is donated to AMFAR and a program to help writers with HIV/AIDS.

A Review of DEEP IN THE HEART by Sharon Oard Warner

What a great show for a first novel!

Great character development. Ms. Warner seems to conger up individuals by a snap of the fingers. Most are unforgettable mainly because they are so ordinary yet so realistic. Warner is so insightful that one has a hard time distinguishing the "good" guys from the "bad". All are too, too human. Most of us are far from saints but at the same time, we are basically far from being absolute devils. So too are her characters. The author walks around each one giving the reader one prospective after another of each as they appear in the book.

True, the plot over abortion is a tad creaky. We have all been exposed to it day in and day out to the point that of us are now thinking that now the laws of protection have been put in place to protect those who opt for their choice, so now let us move on to other ills of our society.

Again, well worth the reading if for just seeing a real pro perform.

Monday, March 26, 2001

Ms. Warner has done a masterful job of crafting a great story. One that is engaging and interesting, however this is not the main reason I think this is a great work.

Most of the time these types of books are obviously an effort to put forth a personal view, and usually adopting one side of a controversial subject. This is a perfect example of an author really delving into the guts of the issue and presenting the question, rather than the answer. Congratulations Ms. Warner!

Aptly-titled, "Deep in the Heart" is a compelling, sensitive and provocative debut novel which thoroughly engages the reader in a powerful narrative driven by sensitive-rendered and completely believable characters. The author, Sharon Oard Warner, uses the vehicle of a contested abortion to treat, with skill and sensitivity, the themes of family secrets and fragility, the loss and possibility of love in and around marriage, and the enormous impact conscience has in driving our everyday actions. This large and fast-paced novel is the product of an author who genuinely cares about her readers; Ms. Warner always rises above cliche and takes great risks in emphasizing the humanity of her charcters, all of whom are deeply involved in one of the pivotal political struggles of our day, abortion.

Quite late in the book, Dr. Hannah Solace realizes that her husband, Carl, devloped his love for her not from her beauty, but from her sadness. This understanding symbolizes the wholeness of the novel and encapsulates the underlying emotion felt by the reader. For "Heart" is a profoundly sad novel, although by book's end, the enduring qualities of hope, love and faith genuinely resolve themselves with an opitimistic view of the future. Each character is washed in hues of loneliness, despair and abandonment. Hannah, who is an admirable, articulate modern woman, suffers terribly from the memory of the childhood death of her mother; the resulting pressures and fear create an adult removed from her feelings and ultimately, her husband. Carl, an artist whose adult life swims in unfulfilled dreams of art and a responsive partner, yearns for a child to give a sense of animation and purpose to his life. One of the book's central ironies is the dissolution of a marriage after an abortion rather than because of one. The virginal Penny, who at the age of 23 seems resigned to a life outside the perameters of love, discovers complexity and multi-dimensional perspectives in the midst of an attempted romance with an intolerant, charismatic evangelical minister, whose own life abounds with internal conflict.

Ms. Oard presents a simply brilliant collage of motherhood. Hannah's sister, Helen, initially seems to be the model of stay-at-home contentment. As the novel progresses, turmoil and betrayal erode her confidence (the author often comments about the terrible state of her fingernails). Penny's mother, Delia, is swathed in secrets and Penny, herself, is suffused with a sense of abandonment. Penny's grandmother, Mattie, who ignores her own past and her daughter's torment, tries to serve as a mother-figure for Penny but is limited by her own guilt and restricted by her adherence to a faith which promises life but deals with its own prejudices and death-obsessions.

Ms. Warner informs us that she spent seven years and went through seven drafts before completing her novel. I can assure you that it was well worth her time and worth our wait. "Deep in the Heart" resonates with truth.