Something Unpredictable: A Novel

by Barbara Chepaitis

From the author of Feeding Christine and These Dreams comes a delightful story of family, love, and life's many unexpected pleasures. At age thirty-one, Delilah needs a plan. Still living with her parents on their Key West estate, with no career to speak of and a dull relationship with a self-involved artist, she is beginning to feel as if life is sailing swiftly past her. Her sister is living the perfect life with the perfect husband, her father con-tinues to make money off the stock market, and her mother continues to spend it on the latest social cause. Delilah would love to save the world as well -- if only it weren't such an overwhelming task. She longs for inspiration. Little does she know that it will soon come in the shape of Carla, -- a former tiger tamer and Delilah's long-lost biological grandmother. Long-lost, that is, until now. When Delilah's mother unwittingly discovers the identity of the woman who put her up for adoption years ago, Delilah is enlisted to visit Carla at her dilapidated farmhouse in rural New York. The first meeting does not go well. Aside from her constant gruff commands and occasional meddling in Delilah's love life, Carla barely says a word to her newly discovered granddaughter, who is more like her than either of them would care to admit. Slowly, however, the two are drawn together by the beauty of the land, by the good friends around them, and by a love as unpredictable as life itself. Soon Delilah discovers that saving the world requires the courage to be saved and that truly embracing life means accepting its uncertainty. "Because love was always unpredictable. And slightly out of control." With her trademark humor and warmth, Barbara Chepaitis tells a wonderful story about one woman's stumble upon happiness in the most unlikely of places. She creates characters that are "genuinely human" (Publishers Weekly) and in so doing reflects our ability to love the world and each other despite our many flaws and failures. Smart, funny, and true, Something Unpredictable is a gem of a novel and one to be dearly treasured.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

I once asked a college class I was teaching to give me their biographies using one piece of paper, any way they wanted. I got back origami, paper airplanes, essays, crayola drawings and more - which made for some fun, instead of reading insipid, uninspired lists of facts.
My biography, using one piece of paper, would be a drawing of a tree, with roots reaching down through the darkest part of the earth toward its molten core, and branches straining toward the stars.
Birds, a few monkeys, a jaguar, and a million fireflies would populate the branches hung with all kinds of fruit and flowers. And it would be a big tree. Very big indeed.
Big as a soul.

Reviews

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book-quick reading. Wasn't what I thought it was going to be about. The story line was about a woman finding her birth mother by accident and sending her one daughter to visit and find out if she would like to see the daughter she gave away and to learn the reason why. Once there, the story took a whole different venue. It didn't focus on the adoption, the reason and if she would like to see her daughter. It ended up being more about the granddaughter and her life and choice of men. Towards the end of the book, the mother finally agreed to see her daughter and gave up bits and pieces of her life as to why she gave her up. It was also discovered that she had a private detective that had found her daughter years ago and had pieces of all their lives in a box that she kept in a closet. I found it odd that this woman didn't inquire about the daughter she gave away when the granddaughter showed up on her door step. But, then upon learning that she already knew about her daughter, that explained why she didn't ask questions about her. Her main project was teaching her granddaughter about the choices she made in her life and fixing her up with the man she had chosen for her years prior when she had attended college in that area. I really would've liked to of seen the mother and daughter come together and have all the questions answered as to why she gave her away and if she knew about her, why she didn't try to contact her long before this. When she finally agreed to meet her daughter, it never happened because of her passing. That was a sad part of the story but everyone just seemed to accept that it happened, they planned the funeral for a mother that she never knew, settled her affairs and went on with their lives. There was no emotions from anyone but the granddaughter, who finally decided what she wanted from her life. A good book, but just wished it focused more on the adoption, why, and then some sort of reunion between them. Would probably read more from this author.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! So different than I thought. The writing has moments of pure poetry like when she describes aging or this one- "...like seeing Grand Canyon for the first time, with the skin of the earth pulled back and all the working parts revealed."

[Nancy Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just happened upon this book - total serendipity. I loved it!!! The writing was absolutely beautiful, even poetic at times. Although Delilah was a bit annoying in her being so adrift, she was also very smart and feisty. I loved Jack. And I loved Carla, too. But the writing is what totally captured my attention. And now I have to go and discover other books by this author. This book was definitely Something Unpredictable.

[Ellie Revert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book by this author of These Dreams. Lovely story about relationships and how fear holds us back.

[Deb2readsandreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book.