Above the Thunder

A wary, middle-aged widow numbed by loss and disappointment. A preternaturally intelligent little girl who eavesdrops on the dead. A charming, sybaritic gay man torn between his love for his partner and the anarchy of his desires.These are the charged poles of Renée Manfredi’s gorgeously written first novel, a book that explores the currents of tenderness, responsibility and chance that turn strangers into a family.

Anna Brinkman meets her ten-year-old granddaughter Flynn when the girl appe...