A HOUSE AMONG THE TREES by Julia Glass

What do an Oscar-winning actor, a celebrated children’s book author/illustrator, and a man dying of AIDS have in common?  They are all characters in this wonderful book, along with the main character, Tomasina (Tommy for short), who is the long-time live-in assistant to Mort Lear, the aforementioned author, who has died suddenly in an accident when the novel opens.  Tommy, as Mort’s executor, has a lot on her plate, including setting up a foundation for boys and explaining to a museum curator what Mort’s wishes were for his collection of drawings and manuscripts.  Tommy has devoted decades of her life to Mort.  She has no regrets about living in his shadow, as she has enjoyed the company of Mort and his fellow authors, has traveled the world for his book tours, and has accompanied Mort to numerous awards shows. I would not say that she lives vicariously through Mort, but her life has been tightly entwined with his for decades.  My favorite side-plot, however, is that of Nick Greene, who is set to play Mort in a Hollywood biopic and who wants to absorb as much about Mort’s life as possible.  The fact that Nick is humble and kind may seem a bit unrealistic, but fame is a relatively new phenomenon for him, and it has not gone to his head yet.  One wonders how long this will last, as everyone who meets him is starstruck.  This book’s plot takes a backseat to its characters, not all of whom are lovable, as well as the characters in Mort’s most celebrated books.  I did not want to come to the end of this book and thus allow these characters to live the remainder of their lives in my imagination rather than in Julia Glass’s.