DIVIDE BY ZERO by Sheila Deeth

Divide By Zero may sound like an unusual title until you realize that author, Sheela Deeth, is a Mathematician. So how did this left-brained person write a novel? Very well.

Sheela Deeth’s outstanding writing skills, her descriptions and precise attention to detail have always impressed me.

Divide by Zero is filled with realistic portrayals of family dynamics. As the book unfolds, many fascinating characters are introduced and I began to worry whether I’d be able to keep track of them all. Not to worry, Ms. Deeth weaves them together in relationships that work while carefully reminding us who each person is. One special participant is a white cat—a cat some dubbed an “angel cat”—who wanders through chapters seeming to bring about subtle miracles here and there.

These typical people in an ordinary neighborhood experience life from a perspective that makes us stop and consider our own. We get to view the personalities of family members, and the people in their neighborhood, through their thoughts and feelings. Sheila Deeth does this with remarkable ability and insight.

Through four generations of men, we gradually learn of their self-destructive behaviors and, for some, their redemption. We sympathize with one whose childhood was dreadful, but then later learn how he hurt others. Will his son or grandson do this too?

We watch a daughter sacrifice her happiness to care for an ailing mother. And, although she was stricken by a stroke and unable to successfully communicate, we see through the mother’s thoughts how much she appreciates and cares about her daughter and grandson. She is a human being with feelings and definitely is not useless.

We watch the mother of an autistic child cope and adapt. We fear for some characters and cry for others. There is death and there is love. And, in the end, there is hope and joy.

Ms. Deeth manages to enter the heads of many characters and successfully portray their thoughts in ways few authors attempt. She brings us insights into the thoughts of all kinds of people and does it extremely well.

I highly recommend “Divide By Zero.” —Gail Lewis

Product Details:

Paperback: 254 pages

Publisher: StoneGarden.net Publishing (August 20, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1600763405

ISBN-13: 978-1600763403