In this tautly woven tour de force, the
paths of four very different women intersect, briefly but significantly,
in ways that will change each of them forever. MacKenzie Bezos’s
Traps
is a propulsive exploration of the snares we build for ourselves, and
of how life’s trials and reversals can lead to startling freedoms.
Dana is a beautiful young security guard trained in special ops can
disarm a bomb or suture a wound but is terrified of committing to the
man she loves. Lynn is a fiercely independent older woman living alone
in Nevada and running a ranch for rescued dogs. Jessica is a reclusive
movie star and mother of two whose father keeps selling her out to the
paparazzi. Vivian is a seventeen-year-old prostitute who will do
anything to protect her twin babies. Bezos brings deep intelligence and
rich texture to her portraits of four women whose fates, though only
tangentially connected, are linked in miraculous ways.
With infallible comic timing and enormous emotional generosity,
Bezos mines the interior lives of her heroines: their fears, their
longings, and above all the remarkable reservoirs of inner strength they
bring to their struggles. Instantly engrossing, powerfully moving, and
impossible to put down, Bezos’s page-turning novel reminds us that
sometimes our greatest gifts may come to us disguised as our greatest
obstacles.
Read an excerpt HERE.
Jackie says:
"This is a beautifully written story about four women who think they are
strangers, but they have connections to one another that become clearer
as this slim novel moves through a few days of each of these ladies
lives. The narrative weave is masterful, and several emotions are
teased to the surface for both the characters and the reader. The theme
throughout, however, is that life is full of things that feel like
traps. Our weaknesses and mistakes. The violence done to us by others
or ourselves, or that we may have done to others who have crossed our
path. But things like that aren't always what they seem--a bad turn can
sometimes take us to exactly the place that we need to go. Ultimately,
maybe it's only ourselves we have to forget or forgive. I did a lot of
cheering towards the end, and at least one fist pump. Please, treat
yourself to this little gem."
