Rhode Island Blues (2012)

Prolific British author Fay Weldon (The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Worst Fears) once again displays her penchant for wicked satire with Rhode Island Blues. Her new novel starts off cozily enough, with movie editor Sophia having a transatlantic chat with her I Ching-loving granny, Felicity. But as Sophia falls into an affair with her film's director and Felicity leaves her Connecticut clapboard for the Golden Bowl Complex for Creative Retirement, the action picks up: A dastardly couple runs the Bowl, Felicity enjoys a rebellious twilight courtship with a gambling man, and Sophia discovers relations she never knew she had. Wry and witty, Weldon smartly skewers retirement homes, the film industry, and the deceptive elasticity of family ties. A-