Maine is a generational novel by J. Courtney Sullivan. The story follows 4 women: Alice the mother/grandmother alcoholic who lost her husband 10 years ago and copes by drinking and going to daily mass, Kathleen, her middle aged daughter who picked up and moved to California with her boyfriend Arlo to live on and run a worm poop fertilizer farm, Ann Marie, Alice's son Patrick's wife, a good little stuck up Massachusetts' country clubber, obsessed with doll houses and her friend's husband, and lastly, Maggie, Kathleen's daughter, who is pregnant and has an a**hole, good for nothing boyfriend.
My favorite character is Maggie, mostly because I can relate to her most. She's the youngest, in her early 30s, but the way the author characterizes her she seems younger. She is a writer, very indie living in NY. Her boyfriend Gabe is someone I would slap in real life and I keep egging Maggie on through the pages in hope that she won't go back to him.
Alice is aggrevating. She's grandmotherly so its hard to be angry at her but at the same time she speaks to her daughter so disrespectfully. She holds her hauty tauty daughter-in-law and son on a pedestal and could care less about her other daughter's happiness. Ann Marie is therefore equally annoying although the author doesn't spend as much time on her, thankfully.
Kathleen is my second favorite. She seems somewhat free spirited and really loves what she does on her farm with her long-term boyfriend Arlo, who Sullivan describes as a hippie type who once followed the Grateful Dead around while smoking 3 joints a day and drinking a bottle of Whiskey. The two met in AA and hit it off despite their extremely different personalities and upbringings.
I was very content with the ending. I wasn't sure how the author would wrap it up considering the many many events that took place between the characters and individually. Maggie's pregnancy and boyfriend troubles sorted themselves out, Ann Marie and Kathleen's issues as well. Alice's past unfolded most unpleasantly and proved to shape her into the person she became. Daniel, Alice's husband, plays such a key role even though he past away 10 years earlier. Throughout the book he is mentioned often by every character and his presence is there despite his death. It is so strange to see so many sides to a story when you most often only see one side. For Sullivan to be able to show the many facets of one family is truly remarkable. I have read books like this in the past, for example Plainsong by Kent Haruf. All the characters are interconnected but you don't see how until halfway through the book. I enjoy books like this because like I said before you don't normally see multiple sides of a story and through reading you can.
Until next time...keep reading!
kh
herrow
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