Hello. I'm Catherine Weller and this is the Open Book.

This week's selection is Calling Out: A Novel by Rae Meadows.

There are publishers that booksellers and astute readers associate with excellence in particular genres: Arthur H. Clarke and the University of Oklahoma Press with western americana, for example. Two presses that I believe do a superlative job of discovering new novelists with a literary bent are Algonquin and Macadam/Cage. To illustrate: two years ago Mcadam/Cage brought us Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Travelers Wife, a book sense bestseller and a favorite of book groups.

One of this year's novels is Calling Out. The author, Rae Meadows, received her M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Utah… which is good since her novel is set in Salt Lake City.

Jane, the book's main character, moved to Salt Lake after being dumped by her boyfriend. Her life in New York City was increasingly dissolute. So, she left most of her possessions on the curb and headed west, just as so many seekers have before. Once in Salt Lake City, she got a job working at an escort agency. Jane didn't go on calls, she drew the line at answering phones and making appointments for "the girls." She also tried to help the other young women to see a future outside the escort business: college, family, a home. All things Jane couldn't envision for herself.

Jane's new life is shaken by the arrival of an old friend, Ford, and his charismatically self-destructive girlfriend, Ember. Both Ford and Jane are drawn to Ember like, well, like moths to a flame. Jane joins Ember on a downward spiral of cocaine use and emotional manipulation. At the bottom of the spiral is the transition from escort agency phone girl, to escort, to dabbling in prostitution. Thrown into this unstable mix is Jane's ex-boyfriend, still in New York and seeing another woman, but still calling her regularly.

An escort agency phone girl provides a safety line, albeit a thin one, for the escorts. When the escort arrives at an appointment, she calls the phone girl confirming her security and payment. After the alloted time, the phone girl "calls out" the escort: makes phone contact again and ensures the girl is remunerated for additional time, or leaves safely. At the book's end, Jane realizes she must call herself out or risk losing her self and perhaps her life completely. An epilogue, full of too pat resolutions, concludes the book.

Rae Meadows is a promising writer and Calling Out is a good book on many levels. Her characterizations were good, but could've been a little deeper. Then there's that epilogue, which I wish had been omitted. Overall, it's a good read, one you won't regret. And Meadows is definitely a name to watch in the future.

You've been listening to the open book on KCPW. I'm Catherine Weller.

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