The Book That Matters Most (36 page)

The woman stepped forward. Her face was lovely, soft and pale with blue-green eyes. When she spoke, her voice was surprisingly strong.

“I understand you invited Rosalind Arden here to discuss her book,
From Clare to Here
,” she said.

Her gaze fell on Ava.

“Yes,” Ava said. Something was swelling in her, a feeling like nothing she had ever felt. It seemed to fill every inch of her. Yet somehow she managed to say, “I'm Ava.”

“I understand you've been looking for me,” the woman said.

Memories came rushing at Ava with such intensity and speed
that she had to hold onto the edge of the table for balance. Her mother and Lily and her own young self making fairy parties, reading in Orlando's, snuggling in bed as her mother read stories to them. Grief came too. Lily. The horrible year of grief that followed. Her mother's death.

How many of us want to stop time, change the course of events, get a chance to bring someone back? Ava thought. Wasn't that what
From Clare to Here
explored? Except now her mother
had
changed course. She'd spent decades grieving, hidden, in some ways with Lily. But now—now!—she was here, standing in front of Ava.

Ava took a step toward her mother. And then another. And then another.

Charlotte opened her arms.

“Ava,” she said. “Forgive me.”

And then the two women were embracing. Ava inhaled the scent she never thought she'd smell again: books and ink and violet water. Her mother.

Over her mother's shoulder, Ava saw Hank Bingham smiling at her.

“I wrote it for you,” Charlotte whispered. “That's all I can tell them. I wrote it for you.”

“I know,” Ava said.

Ava had so much she wanted to say and so much she needed to ask. But for now, she couldn't let go. For now, she just had to hold on, tight.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For several years, ever since the idea for this book was born, I asked everyone I knew what book mattered the most to them. The books selected here were chosen from those suggestions, so thank you to all my friends who indulged me in my quest. Thanks to my family, who give me so much love; to Andy Green, who helped me with an important plot point in the story, and to my friend Sharon Ingendahl, who is one of the smartest readers I know. Also many thanks to the Hermitage Artist Retreat for giving me the time and space to write, and Erica Sklar for doing the same here at home. And enormous gratitude to everyone at Brandt and Hochman and W. W. Norton, especially Gail Hochman and Jill Bialosky, for helping my words turn into books.

PRAISE FOR

The Book That Matters Most

“
The Book That Matters Most
is an exhilarating celebration of all that books awaken within us: joy, love, wisdom, loss, solace. Ann Hood is a captivating storyteller—I devoured this novel.”

—LILY KING,

New York Times
best-selling author of
Euphoria

“A love of words, of reading, propels the characters from heartbreak to discovery. Book groups—indeed, book lovers of all kinds—will delight in this compulsively and effortlessly readable novel.”

—CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE,

New York Times
best-selling author of
Orphan Train

“Engrossing. . . . I admire this graceful and intimate writer for her literary sleight of hand: you don't so much read about her characters as you inhabit them.”

—ELIZABETH BERG,

New York Times
best-selling author of
The Dream Lover

“Ann Hood's eye for the absurd, her masterful prose and vivid characters instantly draw you into this compelling story about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and lovers. But it's the delicate exploration of human fallibility—of love, loss, regret, and redemption—that makes this one of those rare and wonderful books that truly matter.”

—ANN LEARY,

New York Times
best-selling author of
The Good House

ALSO BY ANN HOOD

An Italian Wife

The Obituary Writer

The Red Thread

The Knitting Circle

An Ornithologist's Guide to Life

Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine

EDITED BY ANN HOOD

Knitting Yarns

Knitting Pearls

© CATHERINE SEBASTIAN

ANN HOOD
is the best-selling author of
The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread, The Obituary Writer
, and
An Italian Wife
, among other works. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, two Best American Food Writing Awards, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, a Best American Travel Writing Award, and the Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

AN ENTHRALLING NOVEL
ABOUT LOVE, LOSS,
SECRETS, FRIENDSHIP,
AND THE HEALING POWER
OF LITERATURE, BY THE
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
OF
THE KNITTING CIRCLE
.

A
va's twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group's goal throughout the year is for the members to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood—one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava's story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who is living in Paris and goes missing. Ava's mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past, ultimately reuniting her with Maggie and offering both of them the chance to remake their lives.

Brimming with the warmth, insight, and compassion that are the hallmarks of Ann Hood's work,
The Book That Matters Most
is Hood at her best.

The Book That Matters Most
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by Ann Hood

All rights reserved

First Edition

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Book design by Chris Welch
Production manager: Louise Mattarelliano

JACKET DESIGN BY CHIN-YEE LAI

JACKET PHOTOGRAPH © PLAINPICTURE / REILIKA LANDEN

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Names: Hood, Ann, 1956– author.
Title: The book that matters most / Ann Hood.
Description: First edition. | New York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2016]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016011041 | ISBN 9780393241655 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Parent and adult child—Fiction. | Mothers and daughters—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3558.O537 B66 2016 | DDC 813/.54—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016011041

ISBN 978-0-393-25384-9 (e-book)

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