Recent Reviews
The Dead by James Joyce
James Joyce’s The Dead is a perfect book to read during the Holidays. This seemingly simple story about an Irish family’s annual Holiday dinner is a complex and layered narrative. Joyce’s language is not just lush, but it also offers profound psychological insight. Some scholars interpret this story as a critique of the Catholic Church, Irish parochialisms, and the treatment of women, which are undoubtedly present. However, for this reader, the true allure of this novella is Joyce’s profound psychological insight into his protagonist’s inner life.
The Year is 1914. Gabriel Conway and his wife Gretta arrive at the Dublin home of Gabriel’s aunts and niece for their annual post-New Year’s dinner. Though there are many guests, Gabriel, as the family’s sole surviving male, is welcomed as the guest of honor. He is described as an educated but anxious man whose sense of self may be more fragile than the respect bestowed upon him. Once he arrives, the evening of eating, drinking, laughing, singing and dancing can begin. Tradition dictates that Gabriel will carve the goose and offer the toast. As the ubiquitous snow falls gently outside, Gabriel speaks of the lives of the assembled guests and acknowledges the dead relatives they miss.
At the end of this joyful evening, as the guests bundle up to leave, Gabriel sees his beloved wife, Gretta, sitting in the stairwell, listening to another guest sing a lovely song. Transfixed, she looks like she has been transported to another world. Her thoughts and feelings seem unknowable to him. When they return to their hotel room, Gabriel queries Gretta and is flattened by what she tells him. He does not respond with empathy but with narcissistic rage, as he wonders if he truly knows his wife. Does he even know himself? Has he deceived himself about their relationship? Has he misunderstood who he is? Joyce’s ability to capture Gabriel’s crushing feelings and internal reflections with such psychological acumen is exquisite. This powerful short story is as beautiful as it is perceptive about the intricate complexities of the human soul. 5/5
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Amanda Peters’ astute debut novel delves into family bonds, secrets, and trauma. This heartbreaking story chronicles the inner lives of Joe and Norma the two narrators who must survive a life altering tragedy that is intensified by white privilege and systemic racism.
Each summer, Indigenous workers travel from Nova Scotia to Maine to pick blueberries. In the summer of 1962, a couple from the Mi’kmaq tribe arrives with their five children. “When we arrived from Nova Scotia, midsummer, a caravan of dark-skinned workers, laughing and singing and traveling through their overgrown and rustling world, the local folks turned their backs, our presence a testament to their failure to prosper.” One summer day, four-year-old Ruthie vanishes after she and her six-year-old brother Joe have eaten lunch. Joe blames himself as he was last to see Ruthie. The local police department perform a perfunctory search but do not find the little girl.
Meanwhile, a white, affluent couple lives in a nearby town with their daughter Norma. Norma is well taken care of but has dreams and memories of a prior life that her mother attributes to an over-active imagination. Norma says, “I think I’ve always known that something was out of place. But when I was young, I understood it was me. Then I quickly forgot why. And the dreams persisted.” As she grows older, Norma realizes her parents have been keeping a secret from her.
There is no mystery. Readers learn early what happened to Ruthie. The narrative tension derives from the impact of this trauma event on Ruthie, Joe, and all those affected by her disappearance. Each of the characters suffers and copes with their pain differently.
What’s fascinating is how each character psychologically struggles and adapts to the trauma over decades. Even still, the two narrators possess a quiet dignity even while the memory of that day and its aftermath haunts them. Ruthie’s family never returns to pick berries in Maine, but they never give up hope that she will return to them.
Though I could quibble with certain aspects of the novel, The Berry Pickers is one of my favorite books of 2024. Peters movingly depicts the invisible ties that bind a family. I admire her insights about the shadows of trauma and the secrets that haunt people’s lives. Highly recommend. 4.5/5
