Book review: Maine
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano. Their beachfront property, won on a barroom bet after the war, sits on three acres of sand and pine tree nestled between stretches of rocky coast, with one tree bearing the initials “A.H.” At the cottage, built by Kelleher hands, cocktail hour follows morning mass, nosy grandchildren snoop in drawers, and decades-old grudges simmer beneath the surface.
As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.
Maine unveils the sibling rivalry, alcoholism, social climbing, and Catholic guilt at the center of one family, along with the abiding, often irrational love that keeps them coming back, every summer, to Maine and to each other.
If there’s on thing J. Courtney Sullivan does well in Maine, it’s capturing the complex prism of family relationships. By following four very different women-from different generations yet within the same Irish-American clan-Sullivan portrays how a family can be held together by both intense love and deep grudges. Each family event takes on a distinct cast in meaning depending on the character’s perspective: For instance, Kathleen, the purported black sheep of the family, has come to detest outings to Maine, since it brings up too many bad memories of long summers spent in close quarters with her mother’s changeable moods and dangerous alcoholism. But for Ann Marie, her sister-in-law, the Kelleher land represents a step up from the hardscrabble Boston neighborhoods she grew up in-a place all their own.
However, the most complex of them all is Alice, the matriarch of the family. Born of a generation that doesn’t believe in talking about the past, nevertheless Alice carries the burden of it every day, particularly the memories of one family tragedy. At times she is a sympathetic figure for her own inner torment, but at other times she is incredibly mean-spirited and bitter towards her own family, especially her children. Her good intentions but often wayward results sum up what makes the Kellehers difficult to be around-but at the end of the day, as anyone with a difficult family member can attest, she’s still family.
In addition to nuanced characterization, Maine is also wonderfully atmospheric, evoking the simple pleasures of a Maine summer. For me, the novel also had the added bonus of describing places I went to on a recent road trip-places like Oguinquit, Kennebunkport, and Cape Neddick. With the weather freezing outside, Sullivan’s descriptions had me daydreaming of my next trip to Maine.
If there’s one area Maine slightly falters, it’s in the pacing of the plot: Sullivan focuses so heavily on the characters’ inner monologue that the plot tends to move at a slow pace, weaving back and forth between past and present events. But overall, like a long walk on the beach, Maine is a satisfying read.