Chapter 1, “A Minor Movement of Muscles, 1993” is told from Marnie’s point of view. Marnie’s in the middle of a drugstore robbery orchestrated by her loser boyfriend named Jimmy. They’re drug addicts living a nomadic life in towns named after towns in England. Her grandmother, no longer living, was her caregiver and her tie to the old country. The chapter ends with Marnie on lookout, her foot on the gas pedal, having told Jimmy, “This Isn’t a Good Idea.”
Chapter 2, “This Isn’t a Good Idea,” is set in 1940 in England. Lou and Alice (Alice is fourteen) are trying to get five-year-old Pearl to swim. This is the last day before “barbed wire, mines, and concrete blockades” will be installed on the beach, which will be off-limits for the rest of World War II. But the sea is rough, and Lou tells Alice, “This isn’t a good idea.” They enter the water anyway and almost drown. Pearl is rescued by Danny O’Neill. We learn that Alice’s mother died, and her father turned to drink, so Alice now lives with Mrs. Flight. Alice is drawn to Danny.
Chapter 3, “If,” set in 1971, introduces another set of characters, including Sonny and Denise. The setting is a hardware store. Sonny is Alice’s son, and the family lives in the U.S. At the end of the chapter, we learn that serendipity (the “ifs” of life) led Sonny and Denise to conceive Marnie.
Buttenwieser uses these three chapters to establish and cement the connections among characters, and in time and circumstances. Her careful braiding of these elements ensures that the reader is invested in all three generations. This is masterful structure and planning. With these three chapters setting the course of the novel, the reader follows the saga of this family, learning the trajectories of its members and the special bond between Marnie and her grandmother. By the end of the story, Marnie has turned her life around, volunteering at a drug treatment facility, and attending college to become an art therapist. More importantly, she is also pregnant. Even as Marnie and Kevin are clearing out the house of her Uncle Mike, she feels their baby kicking in her uterus, the promise of a new generation.
The novel is engaging and entertaining first for its story. Buttenwieser’s skills in structure and in character development, particularly Marnie’s, draw the reader in. Her writing is clear and straightforward, so important when there are many characters and time sequences for the reader to follow. She is also strong in details throughout the novel, whether it’s setting or interior thoughts or images. For example, chapter 17 opens on Marnie’s last day in Provincetown. In early morning, Marnie rides her bike past “the landmarks of her summer hook-ups.”
The beach by the Coast Guard pier, with a cashier from the A&P in July for moonlit sex in the sand. The punk rocker from New Haven who worked in the custom T-shirt store. A cleaner from one of the whale-watching boats. The dishwasher from the Lobster Pot. The lifeguard she met on the pier when she was doing mushrooms on 4 July, who took her out to Race Point Beach. (153-154).
The specificity of these details gives us character from an authentic knowledge of setting. We are with Marnie in this moment. Chapter 23, when Marnie is young, opens with “Marnie is transfixed by her grandmother’s mouth. The way her lips move around as she chews and swallows her dinner.” (213) The intimacy pulls us in.
The dialogue is also subtle, both in terms of the way the characters speak in different time periods and places and also in references to the time periods of each chapter. In chapter 2, set in southeast England in WWII, Alice and Danny (from an Irish family) talk:
‘Hello there. How’s the wee girl, then?’ He stuffs his hands in his pockets and kicks at the ground. They are only a few feet apart. ‘Thought I’d come round to make sure she’s OK. Is she, then?’
‘She’s fine, yeah. Absolutely fine.’ Alice concentrates on her feet.
‘Oh, that’s something, isn’t it? Thought she was a goner for sure when I saw her out there in those waves.’ His eyebrows are jagged with worry at the memory. ‘I’m Danny, by the way. We didn’t actually have time for proper introductions earlier, did we?’ He smiles at her and Alice smiles back.
‘No, we didn’t. I’m Alice, and . . . um . . . would you like to come in for a cuppa?’
‘I’m in a bit of a state, so. Not exactly suitable for calling in on anyone at the moment, now, am I?’ (16)
Contrast that with a conversation held in 1993 between Sonny and Davie:
‘Where’s Geena?’ Sonny asked the boy.
‘Mom’s at the grocery store. She’s going to make us pancakes. Neal doesn’t like him.’
‘Doesn’t like who?’
‘Pat Sajak. Says he’s a phony.’ The boy stared at the television.
‘Who’s Neal?’ Sonny scanned the place for signs of another man who might suddenly explode into the room.
‘Mom’s friend. Neal sleeps over too, sometimes, but he doesn’t snore as much as you do. Mom only makes pancakes when Neal is here. So do you like Pat Sajak?’ (243-244)
This novel is well-crafted by an author who understands structure and how to craft characters, dialogue, and language. It may be fiction, but it also offers authenticity of time and place. It’s a great read.
Aline Soules’ poetry, fiction, and book reviews have appeared in Kenyon Review, Houston Literary Review, Poetry Midwest, Galway Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, Los Angeles Review, Colorado Review, and others. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. Online: https://alinesoules.com