HERE IN AVALON

Two sisters chase a fairy tale across Manhattan.

Being raised by an eccentric grifter who fancies herself a “professional muse” affects sisters Rose and Cecelia Foster in different ways. Musician Cecelia blows off Juilliard to become an irresponsible, “idiotically openhearted” mess, flitting from lover to lover and continent to continent while seeking something ineffable; talented artist Rose, on the other hand, eschews creativity for predictability, double-majoring in math and computer science while maintaining the lease on their childhood apartment so that Cecelia will always have somewhere to land. Rose is a 28-year-old coder, engaged to pragmatic tech bro Caleb, when Cecelia, 30, leaves her new husband, Paul, and moves back in with her sister, claiming she’s there to stay. Rose’s hopes are high until Cecelia comes home one night clutching a card calligraphed with “THE AVALON CABARET” and “Another life is possible.” Cecelia starts behaving erratically, and when she ghosts Rose on Thanksgiving, then turns up the next morning rambling about magic and a little red boat, Rose snaps and evicts her. Weeks pass, and then Paul reaches out: Cecelia called him to say goodbye and asked him to tell Rose she was “going away with the fairies.” Caleb tells Rose to forget Cecelia; instead, Rose secretly teams up with Paul to search for answers, growing increasingly disillusioned with her own staid existence as their investigation progresses. Set in a New York by turns gritty and glittering, Burton’s latest enthralls while exploring the frequently fraught nature of adult sibling relationships. Cecelia serves as the book’s third rail, dividing its characters and imbuing every scene with a crackling tension.

At once spellbinding and sincere.