Suzanne
Rating:
Review
The idea of an actual fifty-foot monster turning up in a small town lake after centuries of legend appeals to me. This is exactly what happens on the day Willie Upton "comes home" to her New York State hometown of Templeton, not knowing what else to do when an affair with her graduate school professor goes sensationally awry. But instead of comfort and guidance, Willie’s in for more surprises. Not only has her mother Vi just become a born-again Christian, Vi decides now is the time to come clean about Willie’s dad not being an anonymous guy from her free-love San Francisco hippie days after all - he’s really a man from their own small town. The story turns on the unlikely premise that Vi would refuse to tell Willie upfront who her father is, but agrees to confirm his identity if Willie researches and figures it out for herself. At this point the momentum of the plot slows down a bit as different ancestors’ stories from the region’s frontier and colonial days become interspersed with Willie’s own story. At first I didn’t like the slowdown, but I must admit her ancestors were a surprisingly interesting lot with shocking secrets galore. Characters from Willie’s high school days pop up too while she’s in town, giving her even more to think about. Interesting on many levels.
Best Line:
"Like so many people who have long ago burnt through all of their own passion, my mother recognized mine, and longed for it." (pg. 5)
Kim
Rating:
Review
Stanford grad student Willie Upton has returned to her hometown of Templeton, New York, where her mother Vivienne and many good memories still reside. Willie is running away from a few things, namely a romance with a married professor that has soured, her recent attempt at running down (with an airplane no less) her lover’s wife, and she believes she is pregnant. At a loss, Willie comes to Vi looking for love and stability, but Vi has decided that Willie deserves to know who her real father is, though Vi isn’t going to tell her who his is. Willie embarks on a massive history lesson of her ancestors because, as luck would have it, he is also a Templetonian. Thankfully a "family tree" is constructed every few chapters during this story because there are a lot of people to keep up with, beginning with town founder Marmaduke Temple in 1797 and ending in current day with the Running Buds – a group of men that jog together everyday, and have since Willie was a child. Ms. Groff has quite the imagination, as I enjoyed learning all about Willie’s family, especially Charlotte and Cinnamon through their letters to one another, and school chums Zeke and Peter Lieder were very entertaining.
Best Line:
"There was an old woman at the desk who bore a remarkable resemblance to a goat, with her skinny jaw and tufts of white hair on her chin, but she was snoozing into her own chest."
