Synopsis
When Richard MacEwan's brother dies in 1949, a victim of a suspicious hunting accident, troubling secrets kept by some women in the family begin to emerge and paint a moving picture of infidelity, faith, and starting over. A first novel.
Reviews
In November 1949, St. Paul lawyer Richard MacEwan travels by train to North Dakota where he will claim the body of his brother James, who was killed, apparently in a hunting accident. Six months later, in April 1950, near the end of this absorbing narrative, Richard learns from James's friend Henry Finch something closer to the truth about his brother's death. The intervening pages of this first novel from Clark (biographer of James Beard in The Solace of Food) develop the story of the Midwestern Mac-Ewan family as though it were a photograph of extraordinary detail in the midwinter tints of gray and blue. Richard's daughter, Anna, divorced and the mother of a son, begins a relationship with a married man, Charles Norden, that leads to pregnancy. Richard's wife, Sarah, disapproves, although Charles claims to be close to a divorce. The theme of the truth about James's death is intertwined, from beginning to end, with Anna's dilemma and ongoing reflections on Christian philosophy. Sober in tone, moral in content, Clark's vision, especially in matters of adultery, is deeply considered and humane. His characters are fundamentally decent and substantial people who, while believing in moral absolutes, are drawn away by the lure of that other human absolute?love. Clark uses a tight structure to think through a moral issue in mature prose. Still, the achievement here is his depiction of the more elemental process of how people come to consciousness amidst the accrual of a lifetime's overlays of knowledge and meaning. Intelligent and perceptive, this first novel combines meticulous craftsmanship with a serious moral imagination. 50,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A first novel by the biographer of James Beard tries to recapture the moral issues of 1950s America, a time when WASPish reticence and conservative social values reigned. To his credit, Clark doesn't celebrate one worldview over another, understanding that each has its drawbacks. Like Dreiser's American Tragedy, this somber narrative turns on a crisis that would be solved today without severe social consequences. Anna MacEwan, a divorced 30-year-old mother in St. Paul, becomes pregnant by her boyfriend before he has actually proposed to her. Something of a grind at his staid law firm, Charles Norden fears this untimely pregnancy might damage his chances at a partnership, so he encourages Anna to have an illegal abortion. The novel, though, is really her father's story. Richard MacEwan is a dull and dutiful estate lawyer who has always done what is right and good, watching while his brother James, a charming lady's man, has pursued the high life. The story opens with James's accidental death, a mystery that sets in motion a series of revelations. In a family defined by secrets and unspoken feelings, Richard is disturbed by a letter discovered in his brother's remains--a letter from Richard's wife declining an affair with his brother. He is stunned, disoriented, and then Anna suffers a botched abortion, and Richard, a devout Episcopalian, feels himself descending into a world of disbelief and infidelity. After a heroic struggle, this solid and loving father accepts that his legalistic view of the world has been inadequate, and he discovers moral subtleties that help stave off psychic anarchy. It's hard to get worked-up over an issue that seems somewhat dated; Clark's overwrought style doesn't help, nor does his explicit propaganda for safe, legal abortion. Still, his ability to see the value in a lost, often ridiculed, way of life is valuable, as is his tidy narrative technique. (First printing of 50,000; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
In this first novel by the author of numerous works of nonfiction (The Solace of Food: A Life of James Beard, Steerforth, 1996), the untimely death of St. Paul lawyer Richard MacEwan's younger brother compels a complex journey into the "deep midwinter" of the human spirit. This story of betrayal and forgiveness, unfolding on the brink of 1950, explores a short, intense span in the lives of two couples: MacEwan and devoted wife Sarah, and their divorced daughter, Anna, and Charles, the man in her life. The brother's death reveals cracks in his family's serene facade as conduct comes under new scrutiny. Ultimately, the survivors are forced honestly and painfully to reexamine their own moral codes. Clark deftly illustrates faltering faith and emotional resilience. As in his nonfiction, he draws intriguingly detailed character studies, revealing universal truths. This novel deserves a wide readership and will especially appeal to sophisticated readers on whom Clark's rich imagery will not be lost.
Margaret A. Smith, Grace A. Dow Memorial Lib., Midland, Mich.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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