Book Review: *Red Hook Road* by Ayelet Waldman

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

Back-of-the-book blurb:  Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good intentions and failure, and by love and calamity.

She Is Too Fond of Books’ review:  It would be oversimplifying it to say that Ayelet Waldman’s Red Hook Road is about grieving – the various ways in which individuals cope (or don’t cope) after a tragedy.  I read it with the thoughts that one never knows what goes on behind closed doors, that a friend or neighbor may say “no, that’s OK, I’m alright” while screaming “help me” inside; conversely, there are people who invite you in to sit with them, when, in truth, they want to be left alone. 

There is no antidote to grief, no special number of days (or weeks, months, or years), no incantations or prayers, no exercise, routine, or other ‘magic bullet’ that will take us out of our grief.  Some wear it like a heavy burden for which there is no relief, others eventually work through it to a semblence of “normal,” feeling guilty, perhaps, when a memory or memento reminds them of what they’ve lost.

The characters in Red Hook Road respond to the double tragedy of losing Becca and John on their wedding day, not one hour, in fact, after they had exchanged vows.  It is the family that catches the novel’s focus – the parents and younger siblings, a grandfather, and a young cousin.  Some drive their energy into projects with which they hope to immortalize the spirit of the deceased; John’s brother, Matt, takes over a boat-building project, Becca’s mother, Iris, mentors a young musician. 

Becca’s family, the Copakens, are “from away;” well-to-do New Yorkers who come to Red Hook, Maine each summer, as they’ve done for generations.  John Tetherly’s family are locals, blue collar workers who struggle to make ends meet.  Waldman plays off these contradictory lifestyles to emphasize their differences and to increase tension between the mothers.  I don’t think it would be correct to say that a person from a particular background is destined to grieve in a predetermined manner.

The novel is set in four parts.  “The First Summer” is the year of the accident; during “The Second Summer,” Becca’s sister, Ruthie, holds a celebration of John and Becca’s lives on the 4th of July, the anniversary of their rehearsal dinner.  The neighbors awkwardly attend:

“If you’ll all come down to the beach, we’ll say a few words and then set off the fireworks.”

The guests silently rose and followed  her down to the water.  It was a ghostly, mute procession.  No one knew what to say, so they said nothing at all.  When they reached the beach they huddled together, waiting.

Ruthie tries again during “The Third Summer,” by “The Fourth Summer,” no one responds to her invitation.

Red Hook Road is insightful in its very slow pace; the portrayal of the families focuses on their loss, and how this affects them.  I found this exploration to be thoughtful and realistic.   Despite the heavy theme, I enjoyed the story and wondered if, and how, it would be resolved.

The resolution was the one area I wasn’t as taken with.  Just as we all grieve in different manners, so, too, do we “heal” at different rates.  To wrap up “The Fourth Summer,” Waldman contrived a situation with potentially tragic outcome; I’m not sure this turning point was fair to the characters she had so meticulously created.

These characters and their reactions, however, will stay with me.  And I’ll try to remember to “stop and smell the roses” and appreciate those things, big and small, that I tend to take for granted.

FTC disclosure: I bought an ebook edition for Pippi, my nook.  I’m getting used to reading on the nook, and you can’t beat the convenience, but I had a hard time flipping thru the pages to write this review.  Is that TMI for the FTC?