Hero

An aspiring writer mulls a marriage proposal in Buckley’s evocative if digressive debut. Hero, who works as a waitress, has been living with her chef boyfriend for several years when he proposes. She demurs and he leaves, giving her a week to decide, during which she writes him seven letters. In them, she considers how she and other women tend to put their needs before the men in their lives, and claims that a woman’s true self lies beneath the “fiction” created by and for men’s gazes (“Girls, listen to me, you have to make yourself up before someone else does.... You’re a myth. Pick a good one”). In this vein, Hero reflects on such figures as Helen of Troy, whom she sees depicted in a painting without a face (“Maybe the Helen in the gallery is relieved to not have a face. Finally, she thinks, some peace and quiet”). Though some will wish for a more direct view into the couple’s dynamic, Buckley succeeds at making Hero’s fears palpable. This will leave readers with plenty to chew on. Agent: Chris Wellbelove, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (Apr.)