Leaving Milan

Harper, the hero of Elizabeth Oness’s new novel, LEAVING MILAN, hopes for a life far from the small Ohio town where she has grown up, a place where distances are measured not by blocks or even miles, but by chain restaurants—“past Chi Chi’s, Outback Steak House, Taco Bell,” a place where the air smells of fast food and car exhaust. Her hopes haven’t died; they were never born. “She was preparing for something without knowing what it was. Each day, she hoped for an adventure, and each day, it didn’t happen. Like the horizon, it was always there, before her.” And yet somehow Harper does forge a new life for herself. Elizabeth Oness writes with subtle power and compassion about courage, strength, and the unshakeable bonds of love.