Patchett, Ann

Ann Patchett describes her friendship with Lucy Grealy, author of "Autobiography of a Face, " and their commitment to each other for twenty years, from graduate school in Iowa to literary fame in New York City.

A group of international guests, taken hostage by terrorists while attending a birthday party at the home of the vice president of a small South American country, form bonds with their captors and enter into an almost idyllic lifestyle, united by the music of Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano.

Rose, married for three years, decides she has made a mistake and leaves her husband, traveling from California to Kentucky to take up residence in a home for unwed mothers where she plans to have her baby and give it up for adoption, but she soon discovers life still holds some surprises.