From Publishers Weekly
Combining an exploration of the mystical with an intellectual point of view, this strange but captivating novel measures the relationship between pagan rites and modern Christianity. Esther Peters, mousy wife of a charming yet domineering Episcopal priest in a small Hudson River town, unwittingly shakes the foundations of her existence finds her world turned upside-down when she uses her sons' homemade playdoughsp per galley to craft a small statue of a fertility goddess. Suddenly she finds herself attracted to an ex-pimp; drawn to the magical estate Blackwood, with its feisty mistress and enigmatic caretaker; and questioning her marriage as she begins to examine her own religious beliefs and earthly needs. Before long a new religion appears to be taking root. With solid characterizations and a fluid narrative, Cunningham ( The Wild Mother ) gracefully crosses the borders of plausibility into a luminous metaphysical realm. If her prose is at times overwrought and the plot chock-full of happy coincidences, these weaknesses are easily ignored in favor of generally fine storytelling that brings an imaginative twist to the often cliched theme of a woman's self-discovery.

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