Chest Pains: A Novel

by Janet Nichols Lynch

A satirical tale finds failed musician-turned-college music instructor Gordon Clay working through a midlife crisis with the help of such unlikely companions as a marathon-running former nun, a small boy, and Gordon's pet cats.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2009

About the author

Janet Nichols Lynch is the author of seventeen books. Her most recent novel, MORE TO LIFE, about the humor and challenges of aging, was published Fall 2025 by Legacy Book Press. Her children's Black historical novel, ELLEN OF ALLENSWORTH is about a girl growing up in Allensworth, the only town in California owned and governed by Blacks, which is now a California Historic State Park. Janet's debut novel, CHEST PAINS, was published in 2009. Her short fiction has appeared in THE NEW YORKER, SEVENTEEN, HIGHWAY99, A LITERARY JOURNEY THROUGH CALIFORNIA'S GREAT CENTRAL VALLEY, and elsewhere. Her young adult novels include MESSED UP, a 2009 ALA Quick-Pick for Reluctant Readers and a VOYA (Voices of Youth Advocates) Top of the Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers; RACING CALIFORNIA, a 2012 Society of School Librarians International Honor Book; MY BEAUTIFUL HIPPIE; COMMIE PINKO; and WHEEL OF FIRE. Janet has also written nonfiction for young readers including CLARA SCHUMANN, PIANIST AND COMPOSER; FLORENCE PRICE, AMERICAN COMPOSER; ELIZABETH WARREN AND IT TAKES TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT; AMERICAN MUSIC MAKERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN COMPOSERS; and WOMEN MUSIC MAKERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN COMPOSERS;

Janet was born in Sacramento, California, and graduated with a BA in Music from California State University, a Master of Music Degree in Piano from Arizona State University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Fresno State University. She has taught music and English at the community college, high school, and middle school levels, and private piano to all ages.

Janet lives in Visalia, California, with her husband composer Timothy Lynch, and they have two grown children, three grandchildren, and three cats. Janet has completed twenty marathons and numerous other races and triathlons. As an avid cyclist, her longest ride was from Phoenix, AZ to Washington, D.C., and she is nearing the completion of her goal of cycling in all fifty states. Find Janet on Facebook at facebook.com/jnicholslynch and Instagram at janet_nichols_lynch. Her website is JanetNicholsLynch.com.
 

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in Janet Nichols Lynch’s recent novel , Chest Pains, have been alive in my imagination since I finished reading about them over a week ago. They are neither sleuths nor heroes, not celebrities nor spies. They live in California but are far from the glamour of Hollywood. They are, in a phrase, a motley and multicultural crew—a lonely and aging bachelor who lives with two cats and is a community college music instructor; a cheerful, marathon-running nun who is tone deaf but seeking a calling in music—and living with another nun who has developed stigmata; and a small boy who is the unwanted child of a mother who was herself abused as a child. How the lives of these unlikely characters become entwined through the need to love and to be loved is the compelling and insightful story that Lynch has created in this beautifully written novel. Deception and pain are inextricably mixed with hope and redemption in a realistic portrayal of human beings who are, after all, living heroically in trying to make sense of their lives.

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I began reading this book online and thought that I would enjoy it because it involved a college professor. For some reason I enjoy books involving professors and academic settings. However, once I bought the book and continued reading it, I realized that I really didn't enjoy it all that much. The story involves the professor, his Polynesian girlfriend, child abuse, a stigmatic ex-nun and a few other assorted nut cases. If I were the author, I'd be disappointed in the cover, which is outrageous and has little to do with the book as a whole.

[Ellen Marchessault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, although I think this is one of the worst covers I've ever seen. Gordon Clay is a professor of music at a junior college and a bachelor. He "meets" a little boy at a park and eventually falls in love with the boy's mother. She is Polynesian, hence the cover. Gordon suffers some alarming chest pains at the beginning of the book, hence the title.