The Barton clan has a way of sticking with you long after you turn the last page. There really isn't a dull moment in either DONUTS ARE MEANT TO BE EATEN or ONLY THE TRYING. Beginning in 1979, and very much describing the characters' experience of time and place, personality driven drama marches on through time to inevitable conclusions. Told with mature insight and compassion for the characters' feckless behavior, but also very much giving the reader a sensory experience of the moment- either what it feels like to be an adolescent male in the late seventies South or a disillusioned wife and mother in a post tech revolution world. Favorite characters include Aloysius for his ungodly antics and Lily for her compulsions. Sex, violence, and eventually love punctuate the plot and keep things moving along. ONLY THE TRYING is the second book in a two-part series. The first is DONUTS ARE MEANT TO BE EATEN.In this follow-up to DONUTS ARE MEANT TO BE EATEN, the author (Alex Cook) explores further the themes of ambition, romantic relationships, intimacy, and loss as his characters confront the issues that threaten to tear them apart. Readers will recognize the author's flamboyant and irreverent style which includes regular references to modern culture, history, and literature, often with a tongue-in-cheek bent.