After Moses

the long version

After Moses tells the story of the eccentric Tumarkin family, who must first suffer the loss of its reckless daughter Shoe and then of Moses, Shoe's five-year-old son. Set in a small, southern Ohio town, the novel interweaves the stories of three lonely siblings-Shoe, Johnny, and Ida, a painter and recluse who has never moved out of her parents' house. In Shoe's final will, she tries to cure that loneliness: a wife for Johnny, a son for Ida. But companionship cannot be parceled out like possessions. Johnny will not marry a woman on demand-even if he happens to love her. Ida will adore her nephew Moses and the tall stranger who walks into their lives, but will they become a family? And what does a young boy do when his parents' worlds collide? After Moses is testament to the fact that love leaves a legacy-and often surprises, too. About the author: Karen Mockler was born and raised in Omaha. She now lives with her fiance in Cody, Wyoming. After Moses is her first novel.