Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: A Triptych (Hardscrabble Books) - Hardcover

Stegner, Lynn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158465063X ISBN 13: 9781584650638

Publisher: Univ Pr of New England, 2000

Synopsis

In the space of less than a year, three people in a small New England village make life-defining decisions. When a stranger moves into Harrow -- a stranger without a past and without a conscience -- old conflicts flare, threatening familiar foundations, and exposing possibilities of new ones. In the tradition of Winesburg, Ohio, Lynn Stegner takes the linked story form to new heights as she explores the interactions of circumstance and temperament in determining people's choices in the face of their unsettled issues.

In "The Hired Man," Ray Rinaldi, a teenager running his alcoholic father's farm, agonizes over his family obligations and his opportunity to escape the stifling confines of Harrow. As spring arrives he hires a stranger, Sam Chase, to help with farm chores. Spring gives way to the arrival of summer residents in the title piece, "Pipers at the Gates of Dawn," in which Dru Hammond wrestles with her growing sense of disconnection from her husband and her concern over the disturbing behavior of her youngest son. In "Indian Summer," Jack Sayers, a fiercely independent former summer resident now settled in Harrow, tells his college-bound nephew the story of his itinerant life but leaves out something important.

Stegner's acute and rich writing reveals, in profoundly original ways, the troubled fault-lines of the relationships that constitute each novella. What happens as Chase appears twice more links the novellas in unexpected and powerful ways, giving all three stories, their characters, and the town of Harrow itself a compelling unity that readers will recall long after the book is finished.

About this title

About the Author

LYNN STEGNER is the author of Fata Morgana (1995) and Undertow (1993), both nominated for the National Book Award. Two of the stories in this book have received several awards and honors, including the Faulkner Society's Gold Medal. Stegner divides her time between Santa Cruz, California, where she teaches periodically at the University of California, and northeastern Vermont.

Reviews

In this absorbing triptych of novellas, Stegner dissects with taut prose and decisive narrative moves the complex emotional states of characters living in a hamlet in Vermont called Harrow. A transient named Sam Chase is present in all three stories, which are also lashed together thematically, each exploring, from different perspectives and with pithy nostalgia, growing up, growing older, and the loss that comes with life's vicissitudes. In "The Hired Man," Ray Rinaldi is on the cusp of adulthood, struggling with the emotions of a teenager at the same time he must manage his family's farm. With searching dialogue and description, Stegner lays bare the poignancy of a family trying to survive as the father sinks deeper into alcoholism. Desperately in need of another farmhand, Ray is forced to employ Sam Chase, but just as things seem to be settling down, tragedy strikes. As spring turns to summer in the title piece, Dru Hammond, an accomplished violinist stuck in a monotonous marriage, wrestles with tough questions about her place in life. Lyrical prose illuminates the complex evolutions of marriage and infidelity, while further portraying the fascinating Sam Chase, who woos women with sinister ease. The final panel of the triptych takes place in autumn, when young Kimball Dodge, on his way to begin his freshman year at Dartmouth, visits his Uncle Jack, who has cancer. Jack tells the long story of his life, which collects diverse thematic threads that reach back to the first tale. He reveals a terrible secret involving Sam Chase, who by this point has become a symbol of expedient amorality. Stegner's (Fata Morgana and Undertow) storytelling skills are impressive. These expressively written tales maintain their momentum even as Stegner commands the reader's attention to look at fog over a lake or ice cream melting into homemade apple pie. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This is beautiful writing: the kind that articulates precise emotional complexity in sensuous terms. Stegner's three interlocking stories take place in Harrow, Vermont, and all revolve around that ancient storyteller's trope, the stranger who comes to town. Handyman Sam Chase is a minor character but the ultimate catalyst in each story. We never see him straight on, but in the first story, teenage Ray hires Chase at his family farm. Ray's father is drowning in alcohol, and Ray is drowning in responsibilities. In the second, Dru Hammond tries to untangle the sorry state of her marriage and the lives of her two boys. In the last story, Jack Sayers opens himself to his nephew Kimball and watches as the pieces of his life come together only to shatter at the last. Family secrets, family lovingness, lost chances, and conscience followed and overridden dominate these stories, along with a bittersweet evocation of life in a town where residents and summer folk go back generations. GraceAnne A. DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

This collection of three interlocking novellas set in Harrow, VT, during the same year resonates with the depth and clarity of a cathedral bell. Stegner (Undertow and Fata Morgana, both nominated for the National Book Award) knows her craft; two of these stories have received awards, including the Faulkner Society's Gold Medal. Whether she is writing about a teenager who runs the family farm, a middle-aged couple, or a feisty older man, Stegner offers knowledge of her characters that is flawless. Several characters appear in each of the stories, and handsome stranger Sam ChaseD"The Hired Man"Dserves as catalyst in all three. In concise and elegant prose, the author conveys an exquisite sense of place, giving readers a captivating you-are-there feeling. A major accomplishment; recommended for all public and academic libraries.DMary G. Szczesiul, Roseville P.L., MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ Pr of New England
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 158465063X
• ISBN 13: 9781584650638
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 282