Rent: The Maytrees: A Novel

Not much of a story is told in this over-written chore of a novel. Cape Cod vocabulary is so overplayed, it loses any effectiveness. No passion to this so-called love story. Disappointing reading.

The primary characters of the book are a husband who abandons his wife and small child; the heart-broken wife left under the starry skies of Cape Cod to figure out how she and her son will survive; and an urchin who sleeps amidst the sand dunes until she tires of that lifestyle and evolves into a bitch-goddess.

Ultimately, I do not see this story as one either about love or family--certainly not about the enduring nature of love. Rather, it is a story about neediness and exploitation. Deary is not the only one in this tale who exploits others. I propose that each of the primary characters makes a decision to get what s/he wants or needs as the opportunity comes along.

There are some lovely passages in this book. However, it seemed to me that the writer tried too hard to do it just right and unfortunately this self-consciousness got in the way.

The words in this book hold on to one another like the schoolboys in Homer's "Crack the Whip." Between sentences is where things happen the reader must attend. Take this sentence, which comes near the end of the book, "Philosophy, Lou thought and so did Cornelius, had trivialized itself right out of the ballpark." To me this is an invitation to reread Plato's SYMPOSIUM, as well as to extend what I might imagine of Penelope, Telemachus and Calypso. Then, too, like John Cheever, Dillard writes New England elegy, in which respect WAPSHOT CHRONICLE is MAYTREES only recent peer.

In this fine piece of fiction, Dillard portrays Life, Love and Death in their most natural and realistic presentation. The setting for the book is Cape Cod and surrounding area. The sea and the sky and the air and the stars figure deeply in Dillard's descriptive narration of a life story that is delicate, romantic and realistic.

Perhaps more interesting than the plot is the way in which Dillard describes the life of the characters she constructs in the book and the environment around them. The characters are full time residents of Cape Cod and they live a life of both hardship and depth. The feelings and visions of the characters are more important than the advancing of the plot. Yet the plot does advance.

Maytree, the main protagonist, marries a young woman who resembles Ingrid Bergman, but that resemblance is all physical. Her character and her love of reading and observing are tantamount to the well elucidated construction of the character development. When without warning, Maytree decides he will leave his wife and live with another women up in Maine for the next 20 years it does not devastate or destroy his wife. She has so much to live for, she never collapses into sadness and despair, but goes on with her life and the raising of their son, Petie.

But as time goes by, Maytree's new lady friend becomes old and starts to die of congestive heart failure. She is not one to succumb to a life of hospitalization, so slowly, her heart starts to give out. When an accident befalls Maytree, he is unable to take care of her anymore, and returns to Cape Cod, to the house of his wife, whom he hopes will help take care of both of them for a while. Maytree recovers, but his lady friend does pass away, in a bed overlooking the ocean.

Maytree is a poet, and as such, he captures important aspects of life and its sentimentality in his poetry. He writes epic poems, on the order of Walt Whitman, and he does get them published and recognized. He never makes a lot of money with the poetry, but does become a modern day epic poet who receives some level of critical acclaim. This depth of feeling, this understanding of life and nature, this wholesome view of the world is what Dillard captures so wonderfully in this short novel. As always, Dillard sees these things and with true aplomb and sensitivity is able to convey in words that the reader can use to extrapolate the deepest thoughts and experiences of the characters. The stars themselves play a great part in the telling of the story that Dillard creates.

The book is truly an American epic itself. As usual, she is able to put into words what so few authors have the ability to convey. Yet Dillard does it with fantastic finesse. The book is highly recommended for readers of fiction who are students of life. The deeper the reader's literary background, the more the reader will appreciate what Dillard has done with this fine novel. It is recommended to all serious readers of fiction who wish to once again get a close glimpse inside the human spirit. It is a sensational piece of work!

Not to be rushed thru. This is a book to be savored.
For some reason I am reminded of "To the Lighthouse".
Annie Dillard has a style, a shorthand for the passage of time, that bears learning, and pays back handsomely.