The reunited Lund siblings, separated as children by Social Services, find that family, whether held together by blood or by choice, can be both a curse and a blessing, an obstacle and a point of connection. Set in Vancouver during the economically turbulent year of 2008, A Brief View from the Coastal Suite explores the Lunds' differing values in respect to relationships, money, and environment - all markers for a materialistic society that is becoming increasingly inhospitable. Cleo struggles to find time for her challenging job as an architectural designer and for the demands of her family; Mandalay, an artist and single parent, tries to raise her twin sons uncontaminated by the materialistic values of their lawyer father; and Cliff attempts to run a landscape company with his spoiled younger brother, Ben, and to accommodate the ever-increasing demands of his Estonian mail-order bride. Karen Hofmann's brilliant sequel to her novel What is Going to Happen Next skillfully explores societal attitudes and the instability of personal and public lives in a world that values money above all else.
Karen Hofmann grew up in the Okanagan Valley and taught English and creative writing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia for nearly three decades, and now divides her time between the BC Interior and the West Coast. A first collection of poetry, Water Strider, was published by Frontenac House in 2008 and shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay prize. Her first novel, After Alice, was published by NeWest Press in 2014, and a second novel, What is Going to Happen Next, in 2017. A short fiction collection, Echolocation, was published by NeWest in 2019. Her poetry and short fiction have won numerous recognitions. Karen is an avid walker, and her writing explores the landscapes, both rural and urban, of British Columbia, as well as the personalities and social dynamics of the inhabitants.
