Red Hook Road by Ayelet WaldmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
My thanks to Goodreads/FirstReads for a copy of this novel.
Red Hook Road, set over 4 summers in Maine, features the intermingling of the Copaken and Tetherly families. They come together for the marriage of Becca Copaken and John Tetherly--and are kept together in unforseen ways by heartbreaking tragedy. The friction between the families--residential Tetherlys and the summering Copakens is a discordant constant of the novel.
I was enchanted by the characters who felt altogether real to me. I cared about them, wondered how they would be changed by tragedy, how their lives would evolve. The lyrical writing is some of the finest literature I've read.
My only regret in reading Ayelet Waldman's novel is that I knew it must eventually end. I tried to draw it out as long as possible, and the end brought tears. Her writing is so precise, every word chosen as carefully as Mozart would have chosen a note for a symphony. Indeed, the theme of music flows throughout, a lovely addition to this musician who is married to a violinist.
While I knew ahead what the premise of the tragedy was, I wasn't prepared for how entrenched this book would become in my heart and soul. It is, quite possibly, one of the saddest books I've read. All the while, I would notice an ache below my throat, the kind you get right before crying. As I lost my grandmother last year, this ache was almost comforting--it is as though I was sharing the grief of the families, releasing feelings of my own.
And like many well-loved books, my copy shows the wear from being taken to the beach, pages rumpled from the dampness, the silver bookmark still holding onto grains of sand; carried to appointments, read into the wee hours of the morning. The story, the characters, remain with me now, and although I was a bit puzzled by the way Waldman ended the novel, it truly ranks among one of my favorite books of all time. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
*Note--A copy of this book was sent to me for review. Disclosure provided per FTC guidelines. My review is my honest, unbiased opinion.*
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