Language in the Blood

After a series of personal and professional disappointments, Scott Talmadge is at a turning point in his life and decides to accept a temporary teaching post at the University of Arizona. He contacts a college friend who has received letters from Scott's former wife, Demer, who is helping Central American refugees escape to Arizona. Wonderful characters, like the manipulative friend Tilghman; Harriet, the repressed whale-watcher; Ellis, the author trying for a second success; and Francie, the free-spirited model/dancer add dimension and vitality to Scott's life and to ours. Nature, politics, and social conscience test Scott's endurance and survival skills. Nelson's prose sings with appreciation of deserts and mountains teeming with wildlife. Bird-watching lore is a bonus.