No one ever expects a mystic corporate novel...but here it is. Trisha Donahue, happily married with two sons, is on the verge of a big promotion at her company, to head up her all-male department. But then two events collide: she does not get the promotion, and she is named Employee of the Year. The annual celebration is being held at an old banquet hall, The Rose & Emerald, which becomes a character in the story. There are some lovely moments, where Trisha contemplates her childhood in the central Massachusetts town, when she got to act out as one of the bad girls in the low rent district; when she rightfully rhapsodizes about her still-lively sex life with her husband; and when she escapes the party and flees into the hidden upstairs rooms of the Rose & Emerald. There, she encounters familiar people from her past and from her company, all of whom provide caring support. The novel doesn't fit into any specific genre, and is there magical realism afoot? Not sure, but it's a purely pleasurable read. PS – there’s also a comet. Or is there?

Quote: "The thought of getting my family to relocate for a job for me would be the same as if I'd helmed the Titanic, as if I'd stood at the steering wheel and said to myself, "Okay, I'm taking us into that iceberg." ( )