New 'Masterpiece' Novel Has Palisades Connection

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — A new novel published this week has a Palisades connection and is earning rave reviews.

Mona Simpson's "Commitment" follows the struggles of a single mother and her family as she enters a California state hospital in the 1970s.

In her review for the Associated Press, Ann Levin called the book a "minimalist masterpiece" that explores the ways a mental-illness diagnosis impacts a family.

The central character, single mother Diane Aziz, struggles to raise three kids on her nurse's salary in Los Angeles. When she lies to get them into an exclusive Palisades high school, it pays off dividends — her son gets into UC Berkeley. Meanwhile, Diane struggles with deep depression, according to the review.

The New York Times called Simpson's seventh book "generously proportioned" and "gently powerful."

Simpson, who lives in Santa Monica, has been awarded a Whiting Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship and most recently a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, according to her website.

"Commitment" was published by Knopf on March 21.