CRAZY AS CHOCOLATE

'When I went off to college, I started telling people that my mother diedin a car crash.' Ellie and Izzy have lived a crazy life, with a motherwhom they adored, but who wasn't without problems. From long midnightbaths, to dancing in the dark in the rain, to driving the family carstraight into the lake, she's been a magic but maniacal figure, someonewhose colourful stunts and bold lies have been the source of both prideand shame for the girls. Then, in March 1971, Izzy's mother locked herselfin the garage and sat in a Dodge Dart with the engine running. Now, on theeve of her own 41st birthday, Izzy realises that she's about to reach anage her mother never got beyond and she's entering virgin time, the secondhalf of a life her mother never knew. All she wants is a phone call fromher father, and a simple 'Happy Birthday' from her sister, Ellie - a callfrom one sane sister to another. But she knows that isn't going to happen,for they're both flying out for an emotionally charged weekend visit andIzzy can't help feeling that she's still responsible, that there areapologies to be made. Surely now, she's at an age where a grown-updaughter can put things behind her? Spare and sweet, "Crazy As Chocolate"is an enchanting, involving novel of the acceptance and remembrance offamilial madness set against an idyllic and wild childhood.