Sam's crossing

by Tommy Hays

Sam's Crossing is a tremendously appealing first novel, a book of vibrant characters and great good humor. Set in Atlanta, the pulse center of the New South, it has already won the acclaim of other writers and should please readers in every section of the country. Our two principals are Kate and Sam. She works in the neonatal unit of a hospital. Day in, day out, Kate has to cope with ailing infants, upset and sometimes grieving parents, truly serious matters. Sam, meanwhile, works in a local bookstore. He has vague ambitions to write but seems content to float in the congenial, undemanding low-key world of book displays, author signings, and customer requests. But now, after four years together, Kate wants something more. She wants marriage, a baby, "a lifetime commitment, a love that [is] thorough and expansive." Sam genuinely wants to give her all these things and more - but the only thing he is confident about is his "uncanny ability to make a mess of things." So Kate moves out, and