Early in , an absorbing new novel from New England’s J. Courtney Sullivan, the narrative reveals an important plot twist by simply telling about it, not showing. This would seem to break the rule that novelists usually follow: show, don’t tell.
Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Early in , an absorbing new novel from New England’s J. Courtney Sullivan, the narrative reveals an important plot twist by simply telling about it, not showing. This would seem to break the rule that novelists usually follow: show, don’t tell.
Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Early in , an absorbing new novel from New England’s J. Courtney Sullivan, the narrative reveals an important plot twist by simply telling about it, not showing. This would seem to break the rule that novelists usually follow: show, don’t tell.
The main character, Jane Flanagan, “got blacked out drunk at a work event and made out with an assistant in front of her boss,” who happened to be her husband David’s best friend. She “managed to ruin her marriage and her job in one fell swoop.” This is on page 45.
Niall Fitzpatrick photo J. Courtney Sullivan Revealing as it is, though, it’s only a teasing taste of what Sullivan has packed into this, her sixth novel. Jane grows up in Maine and does exceptionally well at school, though her academic achievements do not impress her ornery mother.
They do, however, impress Allison, her best friend. Jane gets her master’s degree and her PhD at Yale University and lands a dream job in the Schlesinger Library at Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Jane becomes interested in an old purple house on the cliff near the ocean, across from St.
George’s Island, and not far from the town of Awadapquit, where most of the novel takes place. That house becomes the focal point for much of what ensues. Sullivan digresses from Jane’s life by introducing a range of other characters.
Genevieve, for example, is a lively woman who seems to be instantly disliked by those who meet her. She wants to buy the house and hires Jane to research it. It was originally built in 1846-48 by Samuel Littleton, a ship’s captain.
Then there is the psychic medium, Clementine, who seems ready to explain how ghosts affect lives, and what people from the past might appear and influence a person. Clementine tells Jane that the best place to consult with her would be at the Camp Mira Fair coming in a couple of weeks. Jane, Allison and Genevieve go there together, giving Sullivan a chance to show how distinctively different each is from the other.
Then there are the characters from the past. Frequently, the history of the local Indigenous community is presented, especially that of the Wabanaki people of Maine, showing how mistreated such people were by American governments, armies and universities. The Cliffs All the psychic details and possibilities set the stage for Chapter 10 and a 19th-century narrative related by a woman called Eliza.
She tells of her friendship with a married woman named Hannah, whose husband Samuel — the same Samuel who built the house — is a ship’s officer usually away for months at a time. Eliza and Hannah become close, and Eliza learns, while Samuel is away on a lengthy voyage, that Hannah is pregnant for an eighth time, having lost all seven previous babies-to-be. With Eliza, Hannah becomes happier and this time gives birth to a girl, Fannie.
While this chapter develops into a lively standalone story, it may not end happily. Chapter 12 harkens back to the second chapter, showing what was told earlier on — how Jane first began to drink heavily. “She learned the patterns of other people’s drinking.
She befriended the ones who drank as much as she did or more. She knew which friends would want to stop after one drink, and only ever saw them on a Tuesday,” Sullivan writes. “She was forever lowering the bar.
She created firm, if arbitrary, lines and then she crossed them.” Near the novel’s end, it’s back to Jane for a few little surprises and a satisfactory conclusion. Sullivan, who recently moved to suburban Massachusetts after many years in New York, has written five other substantial novels, beginning in 2009 with , a beautifully written story of how the Smith College experience developed an enviable friendship of four likable young women who are unlike each other.
In all her books, including this latest one, the characters are people you are delighted to meet and get to know. Dating Visiting Fellow Knopf Canada, 384 pages, $39 Advertisement Advertisement.
