Publication
William Morrow, c2021
Status
Available
Description
Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: In her most ambitious novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard returns to the themes that are the hallmarks of her most acclaimed work in a mesmerizing story of a family�??from the hopeful early days of young marriage to parenthood, divorce, and the costly aftermath that ripples through all their lives Eleanor and Cam meet at a crafts fair in Vermont in the early 1970s. She's an artist and writer, he makes wooden bowls. Within four years they are parents to three children, two daughters and a red-headed son who fills his pockets with rocks, plays the violin and talks to God. To Eleanor, their New Hampshire farm provides everything she always wanted�??summer nights watching Cam's softball games, snow days by the fire and the annual tradition of making paper boats and cork people to launch in the brook every spring. If Eleanor and Cam don't make love as often as they used to, they have something that matters more. Their family. Then comes a terrible accident, caused by Cam's negligence. Unable to forgive him, Eleanor is consumed by bitterness, losing herself in her life as a mother, while Cam finds solace with a new young partner. Over the decades that follow, the five members of this fractured family make surprising discoveries and decisions that occasionally bring them together, and often tear them apart. Tracing the course of their lives�??through the gender transition of one child and another's choice to completely break with her mother�??Joyce Maynard captures a family forced to confront essential, painful truths of its past, and find redemption in its darkest hours. A story of holding on and learning to let go, Count the Ways is an achingly beautiful, poignant, and deeply compassionate novel of home, parenthood, love, and forgi… (more)
Media reviews
Eleanor grew up with alcoholic parents in an unhappy home. Eleanor and Cam met in Vermont in the 1970’s they fall in love get married and have three children. Eleanor grew up to be an artist and children’s book author she was the money-maker and her husband Cam made wooden bowls for craft
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fairs. Eleanor and Cam live on a farm in New Hampshire then tragedy strikes and Eleanor’s marriage unravels. This beautifully written story of heartbreak and survival was a great read. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member cataylor
The book begins with Eleanor arriving at her oldest child's wedding in New Hampshire on the farm she used to call home, unsure how she will be greeted by some of her family, then she flashes back to her life up to that point. Raised by self absorbed parents who abuse alcohol, she is in boarding
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school when news of her parents death leave her a teenager without family. Her talent as an artist and her inner strength get her through the next years as she searches for the love of family she so desperately wants and finds the farm that represents home to her. Her marriage and the birth of her children and their coming-of-age are marked with reference points to events that connect the reader to each decade for a time frame, such as the moon walk, Princess Diana's wedding, AIDS, the Challenger explosion, Michael Jackson's death. When her youngest child comes close to death, Eleanor cannot get past the blame she places on her husband and the family she built starts to unravel. A beautifully written novel of finding a way to forgive, both others and ourselves, and leaning to adapt to the changes as we age. Show Less
LibraryThing member librarian1204
Many years ago , I was a devoted follower of Joyce Maynard’s ‘ Domestic Affairs’ column. I identified, I understood and in some ways I was living the same kind of life.
Years later, and this book feels like a fleshed out continuation of that newspaper column , that has moved through the years,
The book is well written, dead on accurate in describing all the emotions, people face living life, facing adversity and growing old.
If you ever read that column, you will welcome this book.
Read as an Arc for LibraryThing.
Years later, and this book feels like a fleshed out continuation of that newspaper column , that has moved through the years,
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adapted and survived.The book is well written, dead on accurate in describing all the emotions, people face living life, facing adversity and growing old.
If you ever read that column, you will welcome this book.
Read as an Arc for LibraryThing.
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LibraryThing member hubblegal
What an emotional read this was for me. I haven't had a book that touched my heart and soul like this one in some time. To give it 5 stars makes me want to go back and change quite a few of my 5-star reviews to 4 stars since they don't hold a candle to this one. It literally took my breath away. It
Most highly, highly recommended.
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reminded me of "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates, which I read 25 years ago but have never forgotten. That was another story of a close-knit family torn apart by one incident. Ms. Maynard writes from her heart and her story and characters are so true to life that I felt I was reading someone's private memoir. There was such beauty in these fragile human beings that it made my heart ache. This will be a hard act to follow.Most highly, highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member pdebolt
Joyce Maynard skillfully brings a family to life in this engrossing novel. Eleanor is 16 when her parents are killed in a car accident that leaves her orphaned with no relatives. Her boarding school roommate invites her to stay with her family, and Eleanor ends up in a situation where she is
Eleanor imagines the farm and its land filled with her future children in a loving marriage. This goal is accomplished when she meets Cam, a man who makes wooden bowls to sell at flea markets. They have three children in close succession, with Eleanor the main financial support of the family through her successful illustrations. Cam and Eleanor have diametrically different personalities, and resentment toward Cam starts to creep in, further exacerbated by a terrible accident that leaves their young son severely brain damaged. She holds Cam responsible, which adds another layer of anger. The slow disintegration of their marriage is examined. Both spouses share a part in their eventual divorce; however, Eleanor bears the brunt of their children's blame. She becomes redundant in their lives as they prefer to live at the farm, which Cam now shares with his second wife and their child, rather than with her in her condo.
When the book opens, Eleanor is the guest at the wedding on the farm of one of their children. She misses the farm, and longs for a meaningful reunion with her children. Her memories of their childhood are poignant and painful now that they are grown. Eleanor does create a new life for herself, but the love of her children is always her priority.
My thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for the opportunity to read this excellent ARC.
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regularly sexually assaulted. At the age of 20, she is a successful writer and illustrator of a children's book series, when she buys a dilapidated farm house and undertakes its reconstruction.Eleanor imagines the farm and its land filled with her future children in a loving marriage. This goal is accomplished when she meets Cam, a man who makes wooden bowls to sell at flea markets. They have three children in close succession, with Eleanor the main financial support of the family through her successful illustrations. Cam and Eleanor have diametrically different personalities, and resentment toward Cam starts to creep in, further exacerbated by a terrible accident that leaves their young son severely brain damaged. She holds Cam responsible, which adds another layer of anger. The slow disintegration of their marriage is examined. Both spouses share a part in their eventual divorce; however, Eleanor bears the brunt of their children's blame. She becomes redundant in their lives as they prefer to live at the farm, which Cam now shares with his second wife and their child, rather than with her in her condo.
When the book opens, Eleanor is the guest at the wedding on the farm of one of their children. She misses the farm, and longs for a meaningful reunion with her children. Her memories of their childhood are poignant and painful now that they are grown. Eleanor does create a new life for herself, but the love of her children is always her priority.
My thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for the opportunity to read this excellent ARC.
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LibraryThing member susan0316
This was an emotional family saga focused on Eleanor, the mother, as her family faces love, tragedy and most of all change. This book will tug at your heart to the point that the reader feels like they are part of the family as it changes over the years.
As the novel begins, Eleanor is her son's
I loved Eleanor as a main character. Her goal was to turn her life around - to go from a sad and lonely childhood to a home filled with family and love. She wasn't perfect by any means and her brokenness is a major part of the story of her family. She worked so hard to keep her family happy that when it all ended, she was no longer sure of her purpose in life.
One of the other things that I enjoyed was the mention of things that were going on in the world and how they affected the family - the Challenger explosion, the early computer age and lots of music from famous bands were all part of the story.
This beautiful novel reminds us all how quickly life can change and how people deal with tragedy. It's full of joy and sorrow, love and loss but most important is the love that a mother feels for her children. This is a long book but it's worth every page and I was sad when it ended. This is my first book by this author and it certainly won't be my last.
Thanks to librarything for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
As the novel begins, Eleanor is her son's
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wedding at the farm she bought so long ago. After the prologue at the wedding, we begin to learn more about Eleanor. She was an only child whose parents weren't as interested in her as much as they were each other and alcohol. When they died in a car accident, she was truly alone in the world. She was an illustrator who had written several children's books in college and when she got her first check for her books, she started looking for a home. She found a farm in New Hampshire, fell in love with Cam, a local wood artist and they had three children together. Because of the childhood that she had, she worked hard to make her family happy. Her two daughters and one son loved their family and loved the adventures that they had as a family. A few years later, a tragedy happens that injuries their youngest child. Eleanor blames Cam, who was supposed to be watching him and the dynamics of the family change completely. Instead of the idyllic life of ball games, family cookouts and winter fun, their lives are now filled with silence along with bitter words for each other. As the marriage crumbles, the family also becomes fractured. Over the years, as Eleanor tries to repair the distance, her estrangement with her children gets even worse. Eleanor herself is broken - she has gone from her perfect life with her husband and children to living by herself. We feel so much of her pain and heartache that I had to put the book down several times to shed a few tears. Will the family ever come together again and all of the past hurts be forgotten?I loved Eleanor as a main character. Her goal was to turn her life around - to go from a sad and lonely childhood to a home filled with family and love. She wasn't perfect by any means and her brokenness is a major part of the story of her family. She worked so hard to keep her family happy that when it all ended, she was no longer sure of her purpose in life.
One of the other things that I enjoyed was the mention of things that were going on in the world and how they affected the family - the Challenger explosion, the early computer age and lots of music from famous bands were all part of the story.
This beautiful novel reminds us all how quickly life can change and how people deal with tragedy. It's full of joy and sorrow, love and loss but most important is the love that a mother feels for her children. This is a long book but it's worth every page and I was sad when it ended. This is my first book by this author and it certainly won't be my last.
Thanks to librarything for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
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LibraryThing member Beecharmer
Joyce Maynard is one of my favorite authors and she doesn't disappoint in Count the Ways. A beautiful story of love, family, bitterness and forgiveness. This story focuses on Eleanor mainly and tells the story of her life with Cam and their children. It tells of how much she loved her farm and
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family until a tragic accident changed everything. This story was told in such a wonderful way that even when I wasn't reading it, I thought about the book and was sad when it ended. I don't often give 5 stars to a book, but this one deserved it. Show Less
LibraryThing member nyiper
Maynard writes that she found that she missed the characters in her book when she came to the end of writing it, and I completely agree!!! I was sorry that this detailed analysis of one woman's life experiences as a wife, a mother, a bread winner, and really on and on had to have a last page. I
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wanted more about all of the characters and of course about Eleanor. Maynard also says there are similarities between Eleanor and herself so of course I will be reading her memoir, even though it was written some time ago. Show Less
LibraryThing member rglossne
This is a novel that will stay with me for a while. It opens with a family gathering, a wedding at the family farm, where we learn that there has been an estrangement between Eleanor and her daughter, and where family tensions in general are running very high. Maynard then takes us back to tell
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Eleanor's story from the time she arrived at the farm, until the wedding. Eleanor is a successful children's book author; her husband, Cam, is an artisan who makes wooden bowls. Together they have three children, and raise them in what seems to be an idyllic environment, with a pond, nearby waterfall, summer community softball games. But a tragic accident and the failure of her marriage puts Eleanor on a different path. Eleanor's career and personal life go through many changes, yet she survives and thrives. Maynard explores themes of family, trauma, forgiveness, and love, in this powerful story Show Less
LibraryThing member susan.h.schofield
I really liked the first half of this book. Then I got very frustrated with the character of Eleanor after her divorce. I still enjoyed the book but I didn't feel Eleanor's character was true to who she started out as. She put up with way too much from Cam during her marriage and after her divorce
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and took all the blame when she shouldn't have. Overall, this was a well written and interesting family drama. Thanks to LibraryThing for the ARC. Show Less
LibraryThing member Micheller7
I have never read a book by Joyce Maynard before. I knew of her slightly - the fact that she was J. D. Salinger’s one time girlfriend and I think I may have seen a movie based on one of her novels. The early reviewers description of Count the Ways sounded very good so I thought I would give it a
Maynard beautifully and sensitively describes the emotions of a loving family coming apart. She realistically presents the wife Eleanor’s feelings of both love and despair about her relationship with her husband Cam, the effects of the divorce on her three children, and what happens to the family.
Some of my favorite quotes exemplify these things:
How does it happen that a person with whom you have shared your most intimate moments---greatest love, greatest pain, joy, also grief---can become a stranger?
Until that night she had not known he was capable of so much coldness or, call it what it was, so much quiet rage. Maybe that's what happened when someone who had once been in love with you wasn't anymore.
How could it be that a person could be both the source of your greatest sorrow and the source of your only comfort, all at once? That afternoon he was both.
Maybe the same thing that made him so enviably carefree also resulted in his maddening obliviousness. Life just didn't seem so earthshakingly serious to Cam...Eleanor remembered everything and never let it go.
Eleanor had learned this over the years: children of divorced parents were like citizens of two hostile countries, observing the laws and customs of each, depending on where they were at the moment. Shedding the language and culture when they entered the other, doing the same when they crossed back. Having to keep their story straight, depending on where they were. Their one source of continuity with each other.
Cam wasn't the type to display anger, least of all to Eleanor. In some ways, his anger would have been easier to take, because a person who is angry at you is at least acknowledging your existence. But Cam drifted along like a cork person. The kind that somehow, miraculously, makes it all the way down the brook without getting caught in the weeds.
It wasn't just that the two of them turned out to have no future together. More surprising, for Eleanor, was the obliteration of the past.
Sometimes, Eleanor reflected, it might be better for a person to remember less.
Families didn't always look the way you pictured them. And even if they did, that was just about never the real story.
Also, Maynard sets the scenes throughout the novel by the news stories and music of the day. The novel covers many years and this technique highlights the passage of time.
She tackles painful topics such as rape, abortion, AIDS, gender reassignment, a child’s disability and of course betrayal and divorce. The themes of loss and sorrow predominate but joy and love do shine through.
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try. I must say Maynard is indeed a very talented writer. The entire plot description is on the back cover, so it is how she tells the story in a simple way with beautiful prose that engaged me. However, because I knew that a tragic event would unfold, I was not happy that it took almost 200 pages to get there. I knew she had to set the stage, but at each chapter I thought it would occur and it did not. I feel it was self indulgent to write so many chapters where nothing really happened. But I must say, once the event occurred the book did move along at a better pace and I began to really enjoy it. (It is a long book.). Maynard beautifully and sensitively describes the emotions of a loving family coming apart. She realistically presents the wife Eleanor’s feelings of both love and despair about her relationship with her husband Cam, the effects of the divorce on her three children, and what happens to the family.
Some of my favorite quotes exemplify these things:
How does it happen that a person with whom you have shared your most intimate moments---greatest love, greatest pain, joy, also grief---can become a stranger?
Until that night she had not known he was capable of so much coldness or, call it what it was, so much quiet rage. Maybe that's what happened when someone who had once been in love with you wasn't anymore.
How could it be that a person could be both the source of your greatest sorrow and the source of your only comfort, all at once? That afternoon he was both.
Maybe the same thing that made him so enviably carefree also resulted in his maddening obliviousness. Life just didn't seem so earthshakingly serious to Cam...Eleanor remembered everything and never let it go.
Eleanor had learned this over the years: children of divorced parents were like citizens of two hostile countries, observing the laws and customs of each, depending on where they were at the moment. Shedding the language and culture when they entered the other, doing the same when they crossed back. Having to keep their story straight, depending on where they were. Their one source of continuity with each other.
Cam wasn't the type to display anger, least of all to Eleanor. In some ways, his anger would have been easier to take, because a person who is angry at you is at least acknowledging your existence. But Cam drifted along like a cork person. The kind that somehow, miraculously, makes it all the way down the brook without getting caught in the weeds.
It wasn't just that the two of them turned out to have no future together. More surprising, for Eleanor, was the obliteration of the past.
Sometimes, Eleanor reflected, it might be better for a person to remember less.
Families didn't always look the way you pictured them. And even if they did, that was just about never the real story.
Also, Maynard sets the scenes throughout the novel by the news stories and music of the day. The novel covers many years and this technique highlights the passage of time.
She tackles painful topics such as rape, abortion, AIDS, gender reassignment, a child’s disability and of course betrayal and divorce. The themes of loss and sorrow predominate but joy and love do shine through.
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LibraryThing member Mrsmommybooknerd
Such a beautiful story and I one I will not soon forget! It was moved so much by this story and the way the story was told. It was original and heartwarming and a bit heart breaking at times too. The story has so much depth a reader will be drawn in quickly and won't look up until the book is
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closed! A MUST read! Show Less
LibraryThing member tibobi
The Short of It:
An amazingly heartfelt story about a family.
The Rest of It:
The easiest way to describe Maynard’s newest story is to say that it’s a story about life. The life that you and I know, have lived or are currently living. As I was reading it, I could relate to different parts of the
At a young age, Eleanor scrimped and saved to buy a farm and the small but lovely house that came along with it. Having some success writing children’s books, she built a small, humble home for herself and when she falls in love with Cam, he immediately becomes her future. The talk of kids and family and raising them on the farm is all that matters to them and so they waste no time. Three children later, Eleanor’s writing career is somewhat on pause due to raising her young children, Eleanor and Cam struggle to make ends meet. Cam? Not concerned. He has what he wants. He’s creating his burl bowls in his workshop and he’s surrounded by his family.
Although the bowls he creates are beautiful, they don’t sell and with Eleanor’s writing career on hold, she slowly begins to resent Cam’s easy going attitude about making, or not making a living. He is the fun parent. Always stepping in to whisk the kids away to the waterfall, or play with them all day long while Eleanor sits in the house trying to come up with new story ideas. During these times, the cracks begin to show. The cracks in their marriage. All is not gold. Is it ever?
This is such a reflective type of read. Eleanor feels every bit of her age as her children grow. The hours spent feeding them, changing their diapers, tending to their every need. It all leaves a mark. At the same time though, it’s exactly what she wanted from life. A home. A family. A loving man to call her husband. As the home life she creates begins to unravel around her, she wonders why she never wanted more for herself.
I loved this story. There is so much to ponder. Especially for me, as my own kids leave this nest we’ve created. I’d turn a page and read something that I’d have to sit with for a little while before moving forward. I’d go to bed thinking about this family, about missed opportunities and about friends and the idea of home and what it means to each of us. This family will stay with me for a very long time.
Simply put, get yourself a copy. It doesn’t matter if you are married, single, have had kids or not. There is something here for everyone. Highly recommend.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
An amazingly heartfelt story about a family.
The Rest of It:
The easiest way to describe Maynard’s newest story is to say that it’s a story about life. The life that you and I know, have lived or are currently living. As I was reading it, I could relate to different parts of the
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story as well as different characters as they were walking through it.At a young age, Eleanor scrimped and saved to buy a farm and the small but lovely house that came along with it. Having some success writing children’s books, she built a small, humble home for herself and when she falls in love with Cam, he immediately becomes her future. The talk of kids and family and raising them on the farm is all that matters to them and so they waste no time. Three children later, Eleanor’s writing career is somewhat on pause due to raising her young children, Eleanor and Cam struggle to make ends meet. Cam? Not concerned. He has what he wants. He’s creating his burl bowls in his workshop and he’s surrounded by his family.
Although the bowls he creates are beautiful, they don’t sell and with Eleanor’s writing career on hold, she slowly begins to resent Cam’s easy going attitude about making, or not making a living. He is the fun parent. Always stepping in to whisk the kids away to the waterfall, or play with them all day long while Eleanor sits in the house trying to come up with new story ideas. During these times, the cracks begin to show. The cracks in their marriage. All is not gold. Is it ever?
This is such a reflective type of read. Eleanor feels every bit of her age as her children grow. The hours spent feeding them, changing their diapers, tending to their every need. It all leaves a mark. At the same time though, it’s exactly what she wanted from life. A home. A family. A loving man to call her husband. As the home life she creates begins to unravel around her, she wonders why she never wanted more for herself.
I loved this story. There is so much to ponder. Especially for me, as my own kids leave this nest we’ve created. I’d turn a page and read something that I’d have to sit with for a little while before moving forward. I’d go to bed thinking about this family, about missed opportunities and about friends and the idea of home and what it means to each of us. This family will stay with me for a very long time.
Simply put, get yourself a copy. It doesn’t matter if you are married, single, have had kids or not. There is something here for everyone. Highly recommend.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
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LibraryThing member Nancyjcbs
Count The Ways is Eleanor's story and of the center of her life: her family. Eleanor was an only child in a world where she felt unwanted. Her one desire was to love and be loved. For quite some time she found that in rural New Hampshire. After a tragedy her life was turned on its head. The reader
Although it was neither an extraordinary family or truly unusual story I enjoyed the forty-year journey with Eleanor.
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sees Eleanor's ordinary life filled with love, sadness, joy, difficulty, progress, fighting and giving up. Although it was neither an extraordinary family or truly unusual story I enjoyed the forty-year journey with Eleanor.
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LibraryThing member whitreidtan
Joyce Maynard's books can be wildly different from each other. What always endures in her stories though, is an amazing depth of characterization, an intricate look at the lives of the people she's created, and a sympathy for their choices. This same sensibility is on display in her novel Count the
Eleanor and Cam fall in love and create a family in the late 1970s in rural New Hampshire. Eleanor, who was raised by emotionally distant parents, has always wanted a close and loving family. She writes and illustrates a series of quite successful children's books when she is still in college, enabling her to buy the rustic New Hampshire farmhouse she falls in love with. Shortly thereafter she falls in love with Cam, who she meets at a craft fair where he is selling his lovingly handcrafted wooden bowls. Together they create the exact life Eleanor has always wanted, or do they? Several years and three children later, their lives are not nearly as idyllic as they once were. Cam doesn't earn any money, spending his days either playing with the kids or with his head in the clouds, certain that everything will work out. Eleanor, on the other hand, resents what she sees as his carefree and irresponsible attitude towards life, a life she funds entirely, with ever dwindling royalties and contract work she doesn't love. When a tragedy happens on Cam's watch, the already present cracks in their marriage widen even further until everything falls apart.
Opening with the family launching small wooden boats filled with cork people in the brook by their house, the symbolism of the people, some of whom reappear downstream, some of whom disappear, some of whom get waylaid in the long grasses along the brook, and some of whom bob to the surface long after their expected arrival in the calm shallows, is very clearly a metaphor for the story set to unfold in the pages ahead. Eleanor returns to the farm for the wedding of her oldest child, reflecting back on her life, coming to the farm and then leaving it, creating a family and then letting it go. Eleanor remembers when life was postcard perfect, with slow narration already feeling bittersweet, thanks to occasional reminders that it's all going to end. And end it does.
The story spans decades of this family's life, the ways that they hurt each other, but also the ways that they love each other. Eleanor comes across as a bit of a doormat or perhaps a martyr, allowing Cam to not only appear to be the good, fun-time dad he's always been but to keep the farm house that she purchased, to keep the children with him, and to hide his part in the disintegration of their marriage, causing their children to become estranged from her. Her inability to forgive him for the accident that happened on his watch seems to require her to sacrifice everything that was once hers, never mind that she has made every other sacrifice in their marriage leading up to this event. Beyond infuriating. Cam comes across as a perpetual Peter Pan and it is hardly surprising that Eleanor comes to find his attitude aggravating and to resent his laissez faire approach to life. The only surprise is that it takes so long and such a devastating accident for it to happen. There is a lot of unnecessary repetition of imagery here, especially of the cork people, abandoning all subtlety and failing to trust the reader's intelligence. It is extremely slow and feels a bit unbalanced between the before and after of the accident. It's very much a reflective character study, an examination of family, of forgiveness between partners and between parents and children. It is a story of sacrifice and letting go, of the challenge and imperfection of love, and of the ways that the life we might want may not, in the end, be the life we get, or even the life we do in fact want. Perhaps if I hadn't been irritated with the characters most of the time, I wouldn't have felt as if this dragged but as it was, I found it weary, the predictability of Eleanor and Cam, the breakdown of their marriage, and the adult children's exasperating reactions to their mother. There were some surprises along the way and I did appreciate those but overall, this wasn't as much for me as I'd hoped it would be.
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Ways, even if the reader doesn't always feel as connected and in concert with the characters as their creator clearly does.Eleanor and Cam fall in love and create a family in the late 1970s in rural New Hampshire. Eleanor, who was raised by emotionally distant parents, has always wanted a close and loving family. She writes and illustrates a series of quite successful children's books when she is still in college, enabling her to buy the rustic New Hampshire farmhouse she falls in love with. Shortly thereafter she falls in love with Cam, who she meets at a craft fair where he is selling his lovingly handcrafted wooden bowls. Together they create the exact life Eleanor has always wanted, or do they? Several years and three children later, their lives are not nearly as idyllic as they once were. Cam doesn't earn any money, spending his days either playing with the kids or with his head in the clouds, certain that everything will work out. Eleanor, on the other hand, resents what she sees as his carefree and irresponsible attitude towards life, a life she funds entirely, with ever dwindling royalties and contract work she doesn't love. When a tragedy happens on Cam's watch, the already present cracks in their marriage widen even further until everything falls apart.
Opening with the family launching small wooden boats filled with cork people in the brook by their house, the symbolism of the people, some of whom reappear downstream, some of whom disappear, some of whom get waylaid in the long grasses along the brook, and some of whom bob to the surface long after their expected arrival in the calm shallows, is very clearly a metaphor for the story set to unfold in the pages ahead. Eleanor returns to the farm for the wedding of her oldest child, reflecting back on her life, coming to the farm and then leaving it, creating a family and then letting it go. Eleanor remembers when life was postcard perfect, with slow narration already feeling bittersweet, thanks to occasional reminders that it's all going to end. And end it does.
The story spans decades of this family's life, the ways that they hurt each other, but also the ways that they love each other. Eleanor comes across as a bit of a doormat or perhaps a martyr, allowing Cam to not only appear to be the good, fun-time dad he's always been but to keep the farm house that she purchased, to keep the children with him, and to hide his part in the disintegration of their marriage, causing their children to become estranged from her. Her inability to forgive him for the accident that happened on his watch seems to require her to sacrifice everything that was once hers, never mind that she has made every other sacrifice in their marriage leading up to this event. Beyond infuriating. Cam comes across as a perpetual Peter Pan and it is hardly surprising that Eleanor comes to find his attitude aggravating and to resent his laissez faire approach to life. The only surprise is that it takes so long and such a devastating accident for it to happen. There is a lot of unnecessary repetition of imagery here, especially of the cork people, abandoning all subtlety and failing to trust the reader's intelligence. It is extremely slow and feels a bit unbalanced between the before and after of the accident. It's very much a reflective character study, an examination of family, of forgiveness between partners and between parents and children. It is a story of sacrifice and letting go, of the challenge and imperfection of love, and of the ways that the life we might want may not, in the end, be the life we get, or even the life we do in fact want. Perhaps if I hadn't been irritated with the characters most of the time, I wouldn't have felt as if this dragged but as it was, I found it weary, the predictability of Eleanor and Cam, the breakdown of their marriage, and the adult children's exasperating reactions to their mother. There were some surprises along the way and I did appreciate those but overall, this wasn't as much for me as I'd hoped it would be.
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LibraryThing member gpangel
Thanks to LibraryThing for the review copy of this book.
I have read a few Maynard books in the past and really liked them. So when I saw this book I automatically requested it. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. Because I did not finish the book, I have not given it a star rating.
I have read a few Maynard books in the past and really liked them. So when I saw this book I automatically requested it. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. Because I did not finish the book, I have not given it a star rating.
LibraryThing member marquis784
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and Library Thing. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.
I actually listened to the audiobook while reading this ARC. There were some chapters which did not make it into the final product. I don’t believe they
Eleanor raised her three children, Alison, Ursula and Toby in a modest and traditional family. Their father Cam started an annual tradition for the family to create "cork people" which they named before setting them off in the river.
Fast forward and Eleanor's children are grown with children of their own. The years have been filled with drama and bitter words. The idyllic life of which Eleanor had dreamed slowly disintegrates after tragedy befalls the family. Over the years, the kids go in their own very different direction after their parent's divorce. The story is complex with colorful characters who can draw mixed emotions given the themes of gender identity, family values, and forgiveness.
The cork people are symbolic of most families, as not everyone who floats in the water will make in down the river. Life is filled with many challenges which usually catch you off guard.
I actually listened to the audiobook while reading this ARC. There were some chapters which did not make it into the final product. I don’t believe they
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impacted this long complex story about family and acceptance. Eleanor raised her three children, Alison, Ursula and Toby in a modest and traditional family. Their father Cam started an annual tradition for the family to create "cork people" which they named before setting them off in the river.
Fast forward and Eleanor's children are grown with children of their own. The years have been filled with drama and bitter words. The idyllic life of which Eleanor had dreamed slowly disintegrates after tragedy befalls the family. Over the years, the kids go in their own very different direction after their parent's divorce. The story is complex with colorful characters who can draw mixed emotions given the themes of gender identity, family values, and forgiveness.
The cork people are symbolic of most families, as not everyone who floats in the water will make in down the river. Life is filled with many challenges which usually catch you off guard.
Show Less
LibraryThing member marquis784
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and Library Thing. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.
I actually listened to the audiobook while reading this ARC. There were some chapters which did not make it into the final product. I don’t believe they
Eleanor raised her three children, Alison, Ursula and Toby in a modest and traditional family. Their father Cam started an annual tradition for the family to create "cork people" which they named before setting them off in the river.
Fast forward and Eleanor's children are grown with children of their own. The years have been filled with drama and bitter words. The idyllic life of which Eleanor had dreamed slowly disintegrates after tragedy befalls the family. Over the years, the kids go in their own very different direction after their parent's divorce. The story is complex with colorful characters who can draw mixed emotions given the themes of gender identity, family values, and forgiveness.
The cork people are symbolic of most families, as not everyone who floats in the water will make in down the river. Life is filled with many challenges which usually catch you off guard.
I actually listened to the audiobook while reading this ARC. There were some chapters which did not make it into the final product. I don’t believe they
Show More
impacted this long complex story about family and acceptance. Eleanor raised her three children, Alison, Ursula and Toby in a modest and traditional family. Their father Cam started an annual tradition for the family to create "cork people" which they named before setting them off in the river.
Fast forward and Eleanor's children are grown with children of their own. The years have been filled with drama and bitter words. The idyllic life of which Eleanor had dreamed slowly disintegrates after tragedy befalls the family. Over the years, the kids go in their own very different direction after their parent's divorce. The story is complex with colorful characters who can draw mixed emotions given the themes of gender identity, family values, and forgiveness.
The cork people are symbolic of most families, as not everyone who floats in the water will make in down the river. Life is filled with many challenges which usually catch you off guard.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
While some events in this novel are extreme, it is very realistic and full of feelings.
LibraryThing member heatherdhahn
I loved this book. I felt Eleanor's pain as a mother always trying to do what is right for her children. It showed that even at the most difficult of times life goes on. Change is HARD and this book showed it in so many ways. Sometimes the change was too much and sometimes that change gave you what
The reference of things from the 80's was refreshing. I remember so many of those things myself.
This book was beautifully written and moving. Thank you to LibraryThing for the advance reader's copy. All thoughts expressed are my own.
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you really needed. My heart hurt for Eleanor through so much of this book. The loss of her parents, the expectations of friends, the loss of her marriage and the change of the relationship with her children. She struggled to just be seen. I think by the end of the book Eleanor found herself and her place in the world. The reference of things from the 80's was refreshing. I remember so many of those things myself.
This book was beautifully written and moving. Thank you to LibraryThing for the advance reader's copy. All thoughts expressed are my own.
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LibraryThing member flourgirl49
The anatomy of a marriage and the aftermath when divorce occurs, which spans several decades. I thought it was realistic, but both heart-breaking and infuriating at the same time. I understand the author has written a sequel which will be coming out in 2024 - I'll be anxious to read it. Joyce
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Maynard is an author I have recently discovered, and I'm enjoying her books very much. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Skimmed for book club. Even skimming it, it felt long. This was boring, depressing and full of 'issues' for book clubs to discuss. I disliked it and everyone in it very much.
LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
Leave a few problems for the next book. Don't load them all on one character. Please!
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
When Eleanor was just a teenager, her parents, always kind of distant with her, were killed in an automobile accident. Though they were not close, her life was upended. While living at the home of an acquaintance/friend, Patty, so she could finish school, Patty’s brother Mathew, who only cared
She eventually went off on her own but left college after a couple of years. She was an artist and a creator of stories. When her first submissions were published, one about an orphan named Bodie, she left her education behind and bought a farm in a quiet place where she could work on her drawing and find peace. That home became her center of gravity. She loved the property. She believed she would live and die there. She bought a dog and named him Charlie. He was chasing a deer and was shot by a hunter. A policeman with a brusque demeanor brought his body home to her.
Then Eleanor met the handsome, red-headed Cameron. He made beautiful wooden bowls and read poetry to her, specifically, Browning's “How do I love thee”, she married and settled down with him. He seemed like a warm, gentle giant of a man. Soon they had a family. Eleanor believed she had found nirvana. Her three children, Alison, Ursula and Toby were her life. Ursula was the peacemaker with hidden anger, Alison was a girl who decided at age 8, that she wanted to be called Al and felt more masculine. Web-footed Toby was the light of everyone’s life with his deep voice and serious remarks that often sounded like they should have come from someone far older.
Eleanor spent her days creating cartoons and wonderful pastimes for the children. They created cork people, boats they sailed in their pond, and a time capsule they buried under their beautiful ash tree. They ice skated in the winter and went to Cam’s baseball games in the spring where she met her first close friend, Darla. Darla was in an abusive marriage. When her husband Bobby got hold of a gun, life did not come to a good end.
Eleanor began to create a cartoon that was soon syndicated. It was about her family. Using her son Toby as the main character of the cartoon called Family Tree, to honor their ash tree, the very tree that later caused a disaster, she kept them fed. Cam continued to carve his beautiful bowls, but there was no mad rush to buy them. She was the major breadwinner and was occasionally resentful. Cam was not ambitious. He was a man who loved his life and his environment. He planted a garden and worked in his wood shop. On the surface, all of the characters’ lives were wonderfully simple. Everyone was down to earth, passionate and as happy as they could be. Eleanor had accomplished her dream and was truly content.
Then, there was an accident that changed all of their lives. Eleanor could no longer create her syndicated cartoon based on Toby, her precocious toddler. He was now brain injured. Eleanor’s temper often showed itself. She referred to it as “crazyland”. and would say things she would be sorry for later. In the past, life had been so good. She had created activities for the children, made home cooked meals and loved her husband. They were, for all the world to see, a very happy family, but now they grew apart.
Although he was still a good father, Cam and Eleanor no longer had a robust and passionate relationship. Eleanor blamed him for Toby’s accident and found it hard to forgive him. As the only breadwinner, since Cam now spent all of his time trying to help Toby improve with Yoga exercises, in order to make ends meet, Eleanor began writing and illustrating greeting cards as she had done before she became successful. She was content to seethe in her anger and live together, but Cam was not content. Then she discovered that he was cheating on her. He was unrepentant. They were divorced. Neither of them ever told the children who wanted the divorce. They vowed not to make the children blame either one of them.
Eleanor moved to Boston and left the children in the house with their father to keep their lives stable. Therefore, she was the one they ultimately blamed. Soon, she was finding solace in an affair with a younger man who had always “loved” her, Timmy Puliot. He catered to her, and with him she found some peace. Years before, as a small child, he had told her of his father’s suicide. She had understood, since both of her parents had died.
Coco was the 16-year-old teenager who was the babysitter. She kept the children’s lives and small world whole and intact. When Eleanor moved away she filled the gap. The kids had no idea about their father's other relationship. Did Cam ever tell them of his prior affair with Coco? Did the children ever understand the simple fact that Eleanor had moved to protect them? Time passed. Many tragedies unfolded.
Coco and Cam had children, one of whom, Elijah, asked to live with Eleanor for a while. As a teenager, he had quit school to pursue his fortune with his band that was growing in popularity. Eventually, he went to Europe to tour. Soon, however, there was another divorce and then a terrible accident involving a drunk truck driver, and Timmy and Coco who were riding together on his motorcycle. Why was Coco with Eleanor’s Timmy? How did Elijah handle this this traumatic event?
Moving on, when Al went off to school, she said she would not be returning. After years, however, Eleanor received a wedding invitation and returned to the home at the farm for the wedding. The wedding service, in both English and Spanish, had an assortment of guests who were described by the author. On that day, another truly unexpected tragedy unfolded during a thunderstorm. Oddly, everyone was able to ignore the devastation as they proceeded to enjoy the wedding food and festivities. The ash tree and the house were no longer. Did it foreshadow a different future for all of them? Could they finally let go of the past?
Eleanor noticed that Cam had grown older and was not well. She felt true affection and compassion for him and was finally ready to forgive him, but could she? Could he relate to her? How would they all go forward? All their lives were in the throes of change.
The book is about shame, blame, guilt, irresponsibility, immaturity, anger management, devotion, infidelity, forgiveness and loyalty, motherhood and the environment and every other social issue on G-d’s earth. There are so many characters and themes, but they all merge together well and are well developed. The story is placed in the present and the past, going from things like the Vietnam war to baseball’s Carl Yastrzremski, to Princess Di’s death to John Lennon’s assassination, to the Challenger explosion. When I read the final word of the novel, I thought that the author had inserted every progressive theme possible into this book, but I enjoyed the novel, even when at times it felt like some of the scenes were contrived to subtly present a political position.
The timeline and the thread of the story were occasionally confused, but the story kept moving forward, even as it went backward. Sometimes it even felt repetitive. However, the once perfect family is exposed perfectly with its many dysfunctions that all families are heir to. Tragedy after tragedy occurs. In the end, could the destruction of property lead to the construction of a new path forward? I expect the sequel to this book will explain all the misunderstandings and unanswered questions that were raised by this one.
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about money and drink according to Patty, took advantage of Eleanor, a 16-year-old who was confused and weak at the time. She dreamed of revenge against him, and years later, when he remade himself into a right-wing patriotic politician against abortion, transgenders, and the LGBTQ+ world, she had her opportunity. She knew him when he tried, among other things, to get out of Vietnam and took a girl for an abortion. She punished him with a “me too” moment. Did this prove no good deed of the family went unpunished? Was it vengeance or justice? She eventually went off on her own but left college after a couple of years. She was an artist and a creator of stories. When her first submissions were published, one about an orphan named Bodie, she left her education behind and bought a farm in a quiet place where she could work on her drawing and find peace. That home became her center of gravity. She loved the property. She believed she would live and die there. She bought a dog and named him Charlie. He was chasing a deer and was shot by a hunter. A policeman with a brusque demeanor brought his body home to her.
Then Eleanor met the handsome, red-headed Cameron. He made beautiful wooden bowls and read poetry to her, specifically, Browning's “How do I love thee”, she married and settled down with him. He seemed like a warm, gentle giant of a man. Soon they had a family. Eleanor believed she had found nirvana. Her three children, Alison, Ursula and Toby were her life. Ursula was the peacemaker with hidden anger, Alison was a girl who decided at age 8, that she wanted to be called Al and felt more masculine. Web-footed Toby was the light of everyone’s life with his deep voice and serious remarks that often sounded like they should have come from someone far older.
Eleanor spent her days creating cartoons and wonderful pastimes for the children. They created cork people, boats they sailed in their pond, and a time capsule they buried under their beautiful ash tree. They ice skated in the winter and went to Cam’s baseball games in the spring where she met her first close friend, Darla. Darla was in an abusive marriage. When her husband Bobby got hold of a gun, life did not come to a good end.
Eleanor began to create a cartoon that was soon syndicated. It was about her family. Using her son Toby as the main character of the cartoon called Family Tree, to honor their ash tree, the very tree that later caused a disaster, she kept them fed. Cam continued to carve his beautiful bowls, but there was no mad rush to buy them. She was the major breadwinner and was occasionally resentful. Cam was not ambitious. He was a man who loved his life and his environment. He planted a garden and worked in his wood shop. On the surface, all of the characters’ lives were wonderfully simple. Everyone was down to earth, passionate and as happy as they could be. Eleanor had accomplished her dream and was truly content.
Then, there was an accident that changed all of their lives. Eleanor could no longer create her syndicated cartoon based on Toby, her precocious toddler. He was now brain injured. Eleanor’s temper often showed itself. She referred to it as “crazyland”. and would say things she would be sorry for later. In the past, life had been so good. She had created activities for the children, made home cooked meals and loved her husband. They were, for all the world to see, a very happy family, but now they grew apart.
Although he was still a good father, Cam and Eleanor no longer had a robust and passionate relationship. Eleanor blamed him for Toby’s accident and found it hard to forgive him. As the only breadwinner, since Cam now spent all of his time trying to help Toby improve with Yoga exercises, in order to make ends meet, Eleanor began writing and illustrating greeting cards as she had done before she became successful. She was content to seethe in her anger and live together, but Cam was not content. Then she discovered that he was cheating on her. He was unrepentant. They were divorced. Neither of them ever told the children who wanted the divorce. They vowed not to make the children blame either one of them.
Eleanor moved to Boston and left the children in the house with their father to keep their lives stable. Therefore, she was the one they ultimately blamed. Soon, she was finding solace in an affair with a younger man who had always “loved” her, Timmy Puliot. He catered to her, and with him she found some peace. Years before, as a small child, he had told her of his father’s suicide. She had understood, since both of her parents had died.
Coco was the 16-year-old teenager who was the babysitter. She kept the children’s lives and small world whole and intact. When Eleanor moved away she filled the gap. The kids had no idea about their father's other relationship. Did Cam ever tell them of his prior affair with Coco? Did the children ever understand the simple fact that Eleanor had moved to protect them? Time passed. Many tragedies unfolded.
Coco and Cam had children, one of whom, Elijah, asked to live with Eleanor for a while. As a teenager, he had quit school to pursue his fortune with his band that was growing in popularity. Eventually, he went to Europe to tour. Soon, however, there was another divorce and then a terrible accident involving a drunk truck driver, and Timmy and Coco who were riding together on his motorcycle. Why was Coco with Eleanor’s Timmy? How did Elijah handle this this traumatic event?
Moving on, when Al went off to school, she said she would not be returning. After years, however, Eleanor received a wedding invitation and returned to the home at the farm for the wedding. The wedding service, in both English and Spanish, had an assortment of guests who were described by the author. On that day, another truly unexpected tragedy unfolded during a thunderstorm. Oddly, everyone was able to ignore the devastation as they proceeded to enjoy the wedding food and festivities. The ash tree and the house were no longer. Did it foreshadow a different future for all of them? Could they finally let go of the past?
Eleanor noticed that Cam had grown older and was not well. She felt true affection and compassion for him and was finally ready to forgive him, but could she? Could he relate to her? How would they all go forward? All their lives were in the throes of change.
The book is about shame, blame, guilt, irresponsibility, immaturity, anger management, devotion, infidelity, forgiveness and loyalty, motherhood and the environment and every other social issue on G-d’s earth. There are so many characters and themes, but they all merge together well and are well developed. The story is placed in the present and the past, going from things like the Vietnam war to baseball’s Carl Yastrzremski, to Princess Di’s death to John Lennon’s assassination, to the Challenger explosion. When I read the final word of the novel, I thought that the author had inserted every progressive theme possible into this book, but I enjoyed the novel, even when at times it felt like some of the scenes were contrived to subtly present a political position.
The timeline and the thread of the story were occasionally confused, but the story kept moving forward, even as it went backward. Sometimes it even felt repetitive. However, the once perfect family is exposed perfectly with its many dysfunctions that all families are heir to. Tragedy after tragedy occurs. In the end, could the destruction of property lead to the construction of a new path forward? I expect the sequel to this book will explain all the misunderstandings and unanswered questions that were raised by this one.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780062398291
Original publication date
2021-05-25