Caty Robertson arrives in the world physically fragile and abundantly loved, destined to grow tall and strong like her parents. She’s raised in the glow of Daddy’s generous embrace of humanity and his entertaining stories about Caty’s mother, Lenore. But Caty doesn’t remember her mother, and Daddy is vague about the reasons for her absence.
By young adulthood, Caty creates an idealized vision of her parents’ romance in Berkeley of the early ’70s, a hotbed of social and political change. Lenore is a brilliant law student, eager to tackle every injustice. Roy is an injured Vietnam War veteran and talented chef who dreams of owning a restaurant. The lovers are unlike each other in every way—race, class, politics, and values—yet they soar high on their love, powering through money troubles, his PTSD, and her family’s disapproval of their relationship.
Why, then, does Lenore leave Caty and her father? The separation was amicable, Daddy says, and although they’ve lost touch, he’s sure “she’s livin’ a good life” wherever she is. Sensing more to the story, fearing a hurt greater than Daddy lets on, Caty undertakes a secret investigation to protect his feelings. As she begins her search in earnest, she uncovers startling, unimaginable details—but the facts will remain elusive until she can find her mother and demand the truth.
Indelicate Deception celebrates the unbreakable bond of love between a father and his daughter while unraveling the self-deceptive path of a woman who could have had it all.
V.S. Kemanis’s layered examination of what initially appears to be a love story at the Bay Area epicenter of the flower-power era morphs into a compelling mystery that asks hard questions about race and commitment.
In alternating chapters, Indelicate Deception follows Caty, from the 1990s, and her parents, from the early 1970s, until the stories merge and escalate to a chilling conclusion.
Lenore (“Len”) is a brilliant law student determined to right society’s wrongs. Roy is an aspiring chef, benign and cheerful despite poverty, his PTSD from the Vietnam war, and otherchallenges. He has a laidback quality that troubles the hyperactive Len. Also challenging the unmarried couple is race. Roy is black, Lenore white, resulting in ostracism both socially and from Lenore’s wealthy family, which has virtually disowned her.
From age one, Caty has lived alone with her father, her mother a distant phantom. Caty’s growing pursuit of the truth behind why her mother left the family pulses with the page-turning urgency of a thriller. Characters shine with dimension and depth as Kemanis offers honest portrayals of human courage and deep flaws—particularly those of Len.
Kemanis also skillfully captures the era’s iconic times and moods, from the lingo (“outta sight,” “heavy,” “can you dig it?”) to the paisley, bell-bottomed costumes, to the time’s social upheaval. Crisp, straightforward language is at times deeply poignant, as when Len discovers what being a lawyer really means: “[T]he gulf between the ideal and reality has crept into her soul, portending an impassable moat.”
The genuinely chilling revelation of what happened to Caty’s mother asks hard questions about what it means to be true to oneself and what we owe to those we love.
A woman’s quest for the truth unravels a web of secrets and lies that threaten everything she thought she knew about her family in Kemanis’ utterly absorbing novel. Caty Robertson, raised on love and her father Roy’s stories, grows up unaware of why her mother, Lenore, disappeared from their lives. In Caty’s idealized memory, Lenore is a brilliant law student and activist, while Roy, a Vietnam War vet, is a devoted man with big dreams. When Caty begins questioning her mother’s departure, Roy insists it was amicable. Determined to uncover the truth, she embarks on a secret investigation that reveals shocking details about her family’s past.
The narrative shifts between perspectives and timelines, intertwining a horde of voices that add depth to its characters. Caty’s voice is gripping—her determination and vulnerability make her quest for answers both relatable and emotionally charged. Roy is equally compelling, his strength and warmth shadowed by a deep, unhealed loss. Their relationship, rooted in authenticity, anchors the story. Lenore, through fragmented memories and Caty’s imagination, emerges as a complex figure. The vivid portrayal of 1970s Berkeley, with its fervent activism and countercultural energy, contrasts sharply with the quieter, more introspective moments in Caty’s and Roy’s lives. Themes of truth, perception, and deception run throughout, urging readers to question how much of our reality is shaped by what we choose to believe. The novel expertly examines how memory can serve both as a comfort and an obstacle to understanding, particularly within the emotionally charged realm of family history.
A beautifully crafted and deeply moving story.
Gripping, intense, and profound…
Love, loss, and buried secrets take center stage in Kemanis’s intense narrative, as a young woman seeks the truth about her family’s past. Caty Robertson grows up surrounded by her father’s love and the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. Raised on the story of their passionate, mismatched romance in 1970s Berkeley, Caty idealizes her parents’ relationship. But when she reaches adulthood, unanswered questions push her to uncover shocking secrets about her mother’s departure. Set against the social upheaval of the 1970s, the story explores generational conflicts, especially between Lenore and her father, Marvin. Kemanis’s evocative prose and authentic dialogue enrich the emotional complexity of the narrative, blending moments of tenderness, humor, and heartbreak. Kemanis masterfully weaves emotional depth with nuanced character development, making Caty’s inner journey just as compelling as her relationships with others. The novel delves into themes of memory and perception, challenging readers to question the accuracy of personal narratives shaped by emotion.
A captivating, thought-provoking exploration of family secrets and the pursuit of truth.
