Spinning by Michael Baron

Spinning. Michael Baron. The Story Plant. April 2011. 304 pp. Pb. ISBN #: 9781611880052.

Dylan Hunter is living the yuppie American dream with a challenging but successful dream. Outside of that world, he lives for bar hopping, meeting pretty girls, and basically doing exactly what he wants when he wants. He has no familial responsibilities and even quakes at the thought of ever assuming that role, albeit acknowledging that such demands might come into the picture as he approaches middle age.

Dylan is in for a profound surprise. A brief lover appears on his doorstep one evening with her three year-old daughter, and Dylan accepts her request to stay as a temporary distraction. Little by little, however, Dylan's heart is melted by this cute, intelligent and sensitive little girl, Spring. A traumatic event will shake her world as well, and Dylan is unable to connect with those who would know best how to handle what has brutally shaken Spring's world. Other female friends of Dylan drop into the picture and slowly Dylan begins to understand the shallow nature of his former world, with the additional comments by a new boss who does have his priorities very straight indeed!

Sharing more about this extraordinary story would be a spoiler that deserves to await the reader's attention and eventual enchanted reading. Michael Baron has crafted a tale that is anything but mundane, full of unexpected surprises and resonant with realizations that are presented in a touching and practical manner that isn't saccharine or stereotypical.

Keep writing, Michael Baron! Spinning is fine writing indeed!