Includes

Author-Curated Discussion Questions!

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.