Days of Awe by Lauren Fox
Lauren Fox lives in Milwaukee and as in her previous novels, Still Life with Husband and Friends Like Us; she presents scenes of seemingly mundane life that resonate with much more dramatic implications.
Her new novel, Days of Awe, opens at the funeral of Iz’s best friend Josie, who has left her family and friends behind all too soon when her Toyota skidded off an icy road and crashed into a guardrail. Everyone is shocked, including Josie’s husband, Mark. But Iz and her husband Chris were so close and shared so many experiences with Josie and Mark that her loss causes their world to unravel as well. Their marriage is strained and Hannah, their 10 year-old daughter who considered Josie to be an ‘honorary aunt,’ starts to rebel and is plagued with insomnia and moodiness.
As Iz tries to make sense of this new normal, she remembers past events and re-creates scenes from the life she shared with her friend, both individually and as couples. Through rich flashbacks, Isabel pieces together bits that reveal Josie's flaws -- parts of Josie that she never allowed herself to think about much during her friend's lifetime.
While this could be a dark read, the acerbic humor of Iz’s voice adds constant depth in exploring the joys and perils of domestic life with a range of emotions that will keep you reading to see what happens next.