"The afternoon passed in the pleasant way of such family parties: the too warm room, the excitement of decorating the tree and turning on the lights at last, the scent of the fir, the children falling into disagreements, the smell of beef roasting, the dishes carried to the table, the admirable crunch when Antonia broke the top of the gratin, Arty opening and serving wines, the cake and cookies waiting, the coffee afterward, with brandy." (p. 221) Shirley Abbott loves lists. This book is filled with them. Apparently, Abbott tries to define the thoughts of her characters by have endless lists of details that don't further the story. It happens so frequently that it weighs the story down rather than telling it.

As far as the story, I found most of the characters unlikable. You have Sophie who appears scatterbrained and unreliable who sleeps with her student's father. You have the father Mark who finds it boring to go to work. You have his wife Maggie who dominates him rather than loves him. You have Edith who is an unyielding society hog. You have her husband Sam who is unfaithful to her. You have Antonia carrying on with a married man, which is supposed to be romantic liberation. Then there are the two sets of gay characters. Sam & Edith's granddaughter Alison wants to have a commitment ceremony with Candace. Arty has to deal with Greg's cancer. In the meantime, the events of September 11, 2001 occur in New York. The quote from "Booklist" blazing at the top of the dust jacket is "A smooth polished comedy of manners." Buyer beware that a "comedy of manners" in this context does not equate to humor, which is totally lacking.

While Abbott's construction weaves the characters together, the novel seems like a literary soap opera. There are no universal themes, other than the strong political agenda Abbott communicates that the United States became as bad as the terrorists in its response to the attacks on the World Trade Center. If one wishes a political commentary, there are many books analyzing current politics. However, my prediction is that this will only serve to date the novel. "The Future of Love" is a book with which I did not connect nor enjoy. Taxi!

Many talented writers have tried to incorporate 9/11 into their novels, and failed: the terrorism attacks loom too large, and make other events and characters seem insignificant. Luckily, Shirley Abbott is not one of them. The Future of Love is a luminous book: gorgeously written, with profoundly human characters striving to do their best in a world that challenges and shakes them. Anyone who appreciates good writing and insightful characterization will love this novel.

Love's the theme, but Anxiety the subtext in this smart and beautifully written novel. Abbott has a way of getting you right inside her characters from the moment you meet them, and cleverly leads you from one to the other, layering the connections among them. The setting is Manhattan, 2001, specifically and concretely so, but urbanites everywhere will recognize the characters' dilemmas and domestic disturbances, the choices and possibilities that engulf them even before the disasters of 9-ll. A stunning portrait of the ways modern (and uniquely privileged humans) cling to the illusion of control in a chaotic universe.