Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

I’d had this book on my shelf for ages and could never get past the first few chapters,  so donated it to the Friends of the SF Public Library and forgot about it.

Then, I discovered I was going to be in Maine, so checked it out as a Kindle book from the library – that’s just how I roll folks.

This novel tells the tale of three generations of Kelleher women;  Alice – the cruel matriarch, Kathleen –  flawed, recovering alcoholic, Anne Marie – duty-bound daughter-in-law, and Maggie – the young hapless victim.

Because I planned to read this while at a friends camp (cottage) on a lake in Maine, I thought this would be the perfect novel.  But, turns out Maine (the state) does not really have any role or influence on Maine, the book.

Despite the back cover/inside flap copy this book is NOT a fun beach read about a family’s enjoyable summer days spent at their summer house in Maine — there’s no fun in this Maine. Where’s the lobster dinners eaten outside while slapping the mosquitoes, the chilly early morning swims, or the lazy hot afternoons reading on the porch?

Maine is a dark and grim expose of women joined by dysfunctional drama.  Told in alternating narratives, each chapter is the voice of a different character.   The author sets up the plot of past hatreds and buried secrets and then lets each character delve into their viewpoints, resentments and pain.

The book is extremely well-written and really starts to take off halfway through, when the women come together in Maine at the family summer house.  But, I found it hard to relax and just enjoy this book.  This is a book where motives have to be analyzed and resulting actions dissected  – a good book group discussion could result from the family dynamics.   And as a bravo to Ms. Sullivan, much of the family dysfunction is made real and familiar for anyone with a family — issues or not.

Perhaps  that’s what Ms. Sullivan meant to achieve – an deep, unflinching look into a flawed and dysfunctional family.

So, don’t be mislead by the book’s “summer beach read” promotional copy and do read Maine if you want a well-written, darkly real and unflinching family saga.

Quote:   “…Ann Marie sat at every family dinner and listened to them tell the same stories over and over.  She never met a family so tied up in their own mythology.”