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It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel written in this decade—actually, in this century, come to think of it—and I didn’t realize what I’d been missing.
Nancy Geary captured my interest in the character of Grace Alcott from the prologue, where she describes the simple act of buying new underwear—as Grace does every six months, just as her mother taught her. As I read, the warnings of always having clean underwear in case you’re in an accident ran through my head.
We first meet Grace in the 1960s in college, where she meets her future husband. Bain Alcott quickly shows his influence over Grace on their first date by convincing her not to go to a Vietnam War protest. The two marry before Grace finishes college. During their engagement, Bain, a writer, fills her head with ideas of romantic lunches at home together and traveling abroad for book tours once his novel is published. These ideas quickly disappear when Bain accepts a position as a financial analyst and climbs the corporate ladder of success. Cape Cod then becomes the main setting of the novel. There, Grace meets Prissy, a clam digger with a lot of independence, even in her marriage—the extent of which Grace cannot fathom.
Nancy Geary has an excellent way of hitting on the highlights of Grace’s life and introducing us to important characters and events. She fast forwards to different times where we see Grace’s children born, then see them as teenagers, then adults with their own children. With this style of writing, Geary is able to fill us in on the significant details without the novel dragging on. Then she takes us to the present, where everything comes full circle. The author links the events of the past with those of the present and we see their significance—a method comparable to Charles Dickens’ writing. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
