“Margaretttown’s” publication preceded “Elsewhere” (reviewed last week) by a few months, so one assumes that the mind of Ms. Zevin is a whirlwind of creativity.
“Margarettown” is her adult novel and, while it has many redeeming qualities, it is not quite as clever as “Elsewhere.”
It is, however, a book that grabs your attention and holds it even when you have finished.
What it loses is in being neither a fairy-tale nor a traditional tome.
While either incarnation would be appreciable, it does not quite make the cut as both.
A man, whose name we never quite know other than his first initial, falls in love with a woman named Margaret Towne. She is a red-haired beauty from the school where he is a teacher and he falls hard. They date, marry, separate, have a child, then both die. I am not ruining the book by telling you this, trust me.* The life lines are so twisted that any supposed plot-spoiler is innocuous at best.
What is interesting is how we see this story unfold. We see it as both real and unreal. We see it through her eyes, his eyes, and the eyes of their daughter. Different lives, loves and incarnations of both are rampant.
Margaret is figuratively, and quite possibly literally, six different women. May, Mia, Grete, Maggie, Marge and old Margaret are simultaneously cognizant of their own lives and each other. Are they all the woman we meet initially, Maggie, or all they all someone else? Whom do we meet getting married? Are they people Maggie was and/or will become? How old is she really when Maggie dies at 35?
As confusing as Maggie is, she is still part if a larger picture. Her husband’s life is affected and effective as an extension of hers. We meet his loves and groan (well, I did ) at his decision to pursue Maggie. He and his sister and ex-fiancé all figure prominently in his, Maggie’s and Jane’s life.
I found all of this a bit muddled and much preferred the last bit when Jane, their daughter, presents a more normal version of events. I found it more compelling to view the story as a realistic situation with unidentifiable quirky edges than the other way round.
In fact, my favorite part is when Jane is till in utero. She has a twin brother, Ian, with whom she shares thoughts and it is wonderfully heart-wrenching to listen to them. This is the vein, in which more of the story should flow. Jane and the unborn Ian are outsiders (insiders actually) eavesdropping, as we are. Their confusion is entirely relatable and I found them to be the two most likable characters by far.
As the reader, it is more enticing to sense the proverbial ghost in the machine than have it spelled out definitively in the machination themselves. “Margarettown“ is disconcertingly both predictably ordinary and implausible. A substantive move in either direction would improve the story.
* If I have given away too much, you can always hope that the Carcharadon CarchariasI’ve been looking over my shoulder for since “Close To Shore“ (6.27.08) decides on Critic Carpaccio for lunch …