Mona Lisa Smiled a Little

Lynne Perras teaches communication arts at the University of Calgary.

Organized as a collection of 19 linked stories, Mona Lisa Smiled a
Little is an entertaining and touching novel about relationships.
Almeida Kerwell, a late middle-aged woman, is on the verge of leaving
her husband Joe, who has been behaving strangely since his retirement.
Negative reactions from their daughters—the domestic Geraldine and the
adventurous Harriet—make Almeida question her decision, but she
doesn’t waver until Joe offers to take her on a trip to China. The
trip seems to revitalize the couple, at least for a time, but upon their
return they are greeted with devastating news. The remainder of the
novel book deals with coping strategies and the inevitability of time
and change.

Near the end of Mona Lisa Smiled a Little, Almeida contemplates
starting a new life for herself, as she listens to an old song and the
weather forecast on the radio: “Chances are. Chance of snow.
Chance’d be a fine thing. Chances are I could step on to the street
and be hit by a passing bus. Chances are I could win the lottery. But
only if I buy a ticket. And that’s a matter of choice.” Wyatt, a
gifted storyteller, offers a sensitive treatment of women’s lives,
family secrets, and the small yet meaningful moments that define us as
human beings.