Heart Conditions

by Sara Lewis

Thirty-three-year-old publishing neophyte Alice Hammond is adrift. She'd like a new job, and Nick's departure leaves her not simply without something to hold but without an apartment - and pregnant, as well. Alice, orphaned since her teens, is accustomed to tackling crises alone, and she begins searching for a cheap apartment and an abortion clinic.
At the clinic, Alice has a sudden change of heart, resolving to keep her baby and to conceal her pregnancy from family and friends until the last possible moment. Despite morning sickness, Alice manages to work and to pound Manhattan pavement for lodging without arousing the suspicion of those around her. When she finally reveals her condition, Alice's sister, Laura, calls her "naive and reckless," and nosy Aunt Louise asks, "Why do you do these things?" Ironically, encouragement comes only from her new beau and from Gram, Alice's demanding, curmudgeonly grandmother - a former Hollywood starlet who is now her temporary housemate. Gram's residence offers the comfort of concern, though the rent is the challenge of caring for Gram's weak heart, a condition exacerbated by her insatiable craving for hot fudge and ice cream. Now that Alice has found a roof (however temporary) and a new man (or did he find her?), she confronts the birth of Elizabeth and the return of Nick with the same courage and candor she brings to all her trials and triumphs.
Sara Lewis has the rare ability to limn matter-of-fact events with an incandescence that quickly suggests that these are the most important of life's moments. With irreverent wit, a deft prose style that belies its depth, and characters whose behavior surprises even themselves, she delivers an astute, contemporary first novel about love, dependence, and life in the Big City.

Genres: Fiction, Romance

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Sara Lewis is the author of five novels, "The Best of Good", "Second Draft of My Life", "The Answer Is Yes", "But I Love You Anyway", and "Heart Conditions", as well as the collection "Trying to Smile and Other Stories". Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, McCall's, Redbook, Mademoiselle, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping" and other magazines as well as on National Public Radio. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Lewis' first novel - and my all-time favorite of hers. Warm, witty, funny... the whole package!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I read this book. I read it the first time more than 10 years ago, and then spent a while trying to find it again (which I did with the help of the wonderful What's the Name of that Book? group here on Goodreads.

Entertaining, funny and heartwarming.

Just one bone to pick: There's an editorial mistake, which is somewhat funny considering that the protagonist works as an editorial assistant. The song "4th of July" by X is from an album called "See How We Are," not "Here We Are."

(said the girl with an X tattoo)

[Allison Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had Sara Lewis’s books for about ten years now, keeping them because they are like a comfort blanket. I remember the stories as being cozy and easy to read and get sucked into. I recently decided to re-read them because I needed that reading experience in my life right now. I still really enjoyed the worlds she created, and even though her writing isn’t beautiful, the stories she tells are so satisfying.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite books of 1994...

[Bender · Rating 1 out of 5]

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[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing to read from the Sara Lewis shelf...