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In the aftermath of 9/11, the residents of a fictional small town in the Berkshire mountains of southwestern Massachusetts struggle to deal with new anxieties, economic priorities, and the intrusion of a new rich family fleeing the uncertainty of NYC. Although the attacks of 9/11 are always in the background, much of the story just relates to the deteriorating economic, political and cultural prospects of small town New England locals from about 2001 to 2015. There is nothing predicable about the plot, but there are few surprises either and this is not a thriller or mystery novel. It’s beauty is in the wonderfully alive, realistic, and sometimes deeply flawed characters, including a remarkable depiction of the teen angst and confused ambiguity of a girl growing up in that environment and time; that evokes shades of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The writing is direct and eloquent with characters’ differing deeply-held political beliefs conveyed with keen insight but little judgement.
Much of the conflict is between the struggling poor locals and the super-rich newcomers from NYC, and some details are left to the reader’s imagination. Did the town cop actually shoot and kill the angry, poor, unemployed resident protesting his new enforcement of parking regulations? There is an abundance of very foul language that will be offensive to some readers (do not read this one aloud in sensitive mixed company), but it does not seem out of place in the talk of the struggling, unemployed and poorly educated locals with dim prospects for any advancement, and a paranoid distrust of the rich, powerful, and authoritative outsiders. Marital infidelities, drunkenness, and family conflicts round out the picture of the struggling locals.The subtle ways of exerting control over fellow citizens and the balance between individual freedom and state security are delicately dissected.
There are some loose ends. The class-action law suit which occupies much of the first thirty four pages is barely mentioned thereafter and is never brought to a close, and the low-life petty Manhattan thief that narrates those pages detailing the atmosphere there in first few days after 9/11 is never heard from again. But these are minor quibbles.
I lived in New England for three years in the 70s and enjoyed visiting the small towns of Massachusetts and Connecticut, which may have helped me relate to this story. But the small town depicted could equally be fitted into parts of rural southern Ontario, where I spent my first eighteen years, (even though I was oblivious to most of the intrigue) but the politics would be a bit different.
A great timely novel with a potent message for our times, highly recommended.
The Passionate Reader 