FRANKIE

In this decades-spanning drama, a lonely octogenarian recalls her extraordinary life and the important role she played in the lives of her friends and family.

In his inimitably charming way, author, comedian, and talk show host Norton tells the tale of Frances “Frankie” Howe, whose story, like the author’s, is rooted in Ireland. As the novel opens, 84-year-old Frankie is sequestered in her London home after having broken an ankle. Damian, a young Irishman, is hired to care for her. The cantankerous Frankie is drawn to Damian, who encourages her to share her life story. Born in Ireland and orphaned at an early age, Frankie was sent to live with an aunt and uncle with conservative ideas about women. In 1950s Ireland, most women were discouraged from following their dreams and, when Frankie turned 18, she was pressured into marrying a clergyman more than twice her age. Frankie’s suffocating life was common for many women of that era, and Norton paints a formidable picture of how culturally imposed limitations made many women feel betrayed by the world. But Frankie’s life, in Norton’s deft hands, turns colorful, dramatic, and full of light. Serendipity takes her to England, where’s she’s again betrayed by people meant to protect her, and then on to New York City, where fate hands her a romantic respite, a career, and friendships she never anticipated. Norton beautifully evokes settings including the lesbian culture of 1960s London, the art world in 1970s and ‘80s New York, and the heartbreaking emergence of the AIDS epidemic. As in his four earlier novels, Norton ably captures the lives of ordinary people struggling to find their way in an often harsh world.

This feel-good story of an unlikely friendship soothes and surprises with its tenderness.