The City Changes Its Face

In this poignant and evocative sequel to The Lesser Bohemians, McBride continues the story of Irish drama student Eily and older actor and filmmaker Stephen, who have moved in together in London. In the summer of 1995, Stephen travels to Vancouver to spend time with his estranged daughter, Grace, who’s only two years younger than Eily. When Grace visits London that winter, the three struggle to adjust to their new roles, with Stephen afraid that the abuse he suffered as a child will affect his parenting, and Eily having trouble getting used to Grace’s presence and claim on her father. A year later, in sections labeled “Now,” Stephen labors over an autobiographical film, Eily tries to figure out her personal and professional future, and the couple approaches a cataclysm that seriously threatens their relationship. McBride is slow to dole out key information across the alternating timelines (“Now,” “First Summer,” “First Winter”, “Now, Imagined Earlier,” etc.), which can be frustrating, but her lyricism is on full display in Eily’s breathless and captivating narration, which dances between thought and action: “Thinking of your fingers, I arrived at my body’s burning to smoke and went from there to cigarettes.” Readers will be swept along by this entrancing tale of love and its many challenges. Agent: Tracy Bohan, Wylie Agency. (Aug.)