Synopsis from the back of the book. "When Ruth VanderZicht receives the news that her mother, a fierce Dutch Calvinist from whom she has been alienated for years is dying and has asked to see her, she dcan't decide whether to go. This dilemma ignites a turmoil of memory and struggle in which she veers between love and anger, sense and insanity, herself and her mother, the world and God. What ensues is a form of dialogue where each story about Ruth and her past is stitched together by a midrash, a marrative exploration of a biblical text that Ruth writes herself and that becomes a commentary on the events of her life. The result is a daring and complex novel that confronts the dangers of instrospection and the healing power of the imagination. It is a resonant meditation and a beautiful story about one woman's longing for rest."

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