April 30, 2012
The ambitious, stylish second novel from Somerville (after The Cradle) is set in the fictitious small town of St. Helens, Wis., and along the Bright River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Ben Hanson, 32, is back home after his release from a white-collar, “pansy” prison near Portland, Ore., where he served a 14-month sentence for arson. Recovering from heroin and alcohol addiction, he reconciles with his affluent parents and older sister, Haley, and reconnects with a high school friend, Lauren Sheehan, a troubled divorcée and doctor recently returned to St. Helens. The emotionally damaged pair fall in love; Ben tries to solve his cousin Wayne’s mysterious death at the family cabin in Michigan; and Lauren fends off Dr. Will Besco, her wildly possessive ex, who has recently remarried. The ample use of backstory paints Will as an abusive husband, and Wayne as an impulsive addict, both things complicating the quests being undertaken together by Ben and Lauren. Things escalate to a violent climax, and a somewhat rambling wrapup finally reveals all the Hanson family’s dark secrets. Agent: Brettne Bloom, Kneerim & Williams.
June 1, 2012
Past misdeeds afflict generations of a wealthy Midwestern family. Somerville's latest concerns Ben Hanson, who, after several years out west wasting a fortune and serving a short prison term, returns to his small hometown of St. Helens, Wis. Ben's Uncle Denny has died, and he has accepted his wealthy parents' offer to fix up and occupy the house until it sells. Whereas the archetypal drifter is amoral, Ben is the postmodern type, crippled by self-awareness, paralyzed by the damage existence inevitably causes. What Ben has, and apparently needs, is an opportunity to babysit himself. Haunted by his cousin Wayne's death that may or may not have been suicide, determined to learn Wayne's secret, Ben is unable to name the larger conflict that makes his life a sequence of failures he cannot even dignify as attempts. Ben seeks out Lauren Sheehan, a girl he may or may not have had a crush on in high school. But Laura has suffered in the interim, and their courtship is inevitable if halting. While Ben is the protagonist, the narrative baton is passed between several principals. Somerville lets his characters talk and talk: The idioms of the tedious are captured with remarkable fidelity. But even the most patient reader may tire as these inarticulate souls tangle with their complicated feelings. It becomes a matter of taste: How do we react to overhearing a conversation while trapped on public transportation? Do we want to interrupt, to knock in some sense or offer advice, or do we listen, by turns angered and fascinated by tragedies only halfheartedly avoided? A provoking book: The reader will not escape untouched.
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January 1, 2012
Lauren's career in medicine was short-circuited, while Ben meandered his way to prison. They're both home in Wisconsin now, and they might be able to help each other. Somerville's debut novel, The Cradle, was a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and a nominee for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize; film rights have been sold, and the Chicago Public Library gave Somerville the 21st Century Award. All of which is why I want to see this second book.
Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from May 15, 2012
Somerville, the author of two funny, innovative short story collections and an impressive first novel, The Cradle (2009), takes a quantum leap in his torrential second novel, which is set in his home state of Wisconsin. Prodigal son and ex-con Ben somehow burned through his million-dollar trust. Dazed and aimless at 32 after his release from prison and newly haunted by his philosophical cousin's inexplicable death along the Bright River some years ago, Ben is now charged with putting his recently deceased uncle's house on the market. Lauren has also returned to St. Helens, battered by traumatic events but determined to start over. They knew each other slightly in high school, when she was intent on getting into medical school, and he was a rich-kid slacker. Somerville slowly reveals their painful derailments, from Ben's thwarted role in developing a famous video game to Lauren's tragic sojourn as an aid doctor in Chad. Somerville has a gift for spurring dialogue, and the meandering narrative tributaries he explores stoke our curiosity and build suspense as he crosses the wilderness of madness and bloodshed, lies and loyalty, courage and love in this by turns rolling and raging river of a novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)
June 1, 2012
Ben returns to his hometown to prepare his late uncle's home for sale. A recovering addict and ex-felon, Ben feels adrift, but he seeks to rebuild some sort of relationship with his family and find direction for his life. He encounters Lauren, a high school classmate, who has escaped an abusive marriage. They find solace in each other, but dark secrets put both of them in peril. With a tantalizing opening that the reader won't make sense of until near the end, Somerville's (The Cradle) second novel is more complex than it first appears. Ben (and one suspects, the author) loves puzzles, and as he attempts to unravel his family's secrets, Somerville drops clues and telling details, the significance of which only later become clear to the reader. VERDICT Despite its dark edges (increasingly so as it progresses), this novel is also richly funny, engrossing, and humane. Though it contains elements of a murder mystery and thriller, this is a literary novel for readers who want to be simultaneously caught up in a story and impressed by the author's copious craft and skill.--Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis
Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.