The republic of love

Complications beset two shell-shocked veterans of the wars of the heart: Fay, a folklorist whose passion for mermaids has kept her from focusing on any one man; and, right across the street, Tom, a popular radio talk-show host who has focused a little too intently, having married and divorced three times. Only Carol Shields could describe so adroitly these two who fall in love as thoroughly and satisfyingly as any Victorian couple, and the modern complications that they face in this touching and ironic book.