And the dark sacred night, by Julia Glass

The title is the worst thing about this new novel by the author of Three Junes, which I admired.  I have been less taken with her later books and this is no exception.   The dialog, particularly in the first half of the novel, seems stilted and I missed the vivid character depictions in the earlier book.  But that said, the second half of the novel is much more engaging and it was an enjoyable summer read.  Kit Noonen is in a funk – having been denied tenure, he is staying at home with his and his wife’s twin nine-year-olds and rather aimlessly looking for a job.  He has never known who his father was, and his mother, Daphne, has refused to reveal the name, even after the twins are born and there is their genetic and medical heritage to consider.  His wife feels that his stalled life may get back on track if he can solve this existential riddle which troubles him more than he knows.  He hopes that his stepfather, Jasper, may have clues so reunites with him.  Jasper and his mother were married when he was nine, but the marriage ended a decade or so later and Daphne went on to a third husband who was willing to have another child, as Jasper, father of three boys besides Kit, was not.  There’s a blizzard, and a hurricane, but they pale in comparison to the emotional upheavals that ensue.  380 pp.