The Cradle - Patrick Somerville

When Matt’s wife, expecting their first child, asks him to find the cradle she used as a baby, he’s not sure how to respond. Taken by her mother when she abandoned her family, it could be anywhere. But Matt gamely sets out. His search takes him around the Midwest, and Patrick Somerville’s novel develops in the classical quest-tale tradition, with Matt encountering odd characters who help him after he fulfills the tasks they set. Finding The Cradle (Back Bay Books, $13.99), however, is only the first step. Matt, given away by his biological mother and growing up in a series of foster homes, isn’t looking for a symbol of family, but for the real thing. This warm, affecting novel explores the many ways connections can be strained, repressed, twisted, misunderstood---yet still not be entirely broken.