Reviews for Red Hook Road

The average rating for Red Hook Road based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-05-04 00:00:00 David Bartlett A sentimental, weepy soap opera of a read about two families dealing with the tragic loss of two children that occurred in one of the more awful ways you can think of. The sort of novel where people heal in literary ways rather than actual ones, and metaphors give us the moral at the end. There were occasionally well done sentences, snuck in where they didn't matter, but I started skimming near the end, since it couldn't possibly matter if I skipped a few pages, either to the plot or characters. I will say that I think that novels of this kind I have read (this is far from the first), novels that generally go into categories like "family sagas" or "beach reads" or, most annoyingly of all, "chick lit", take the time to address something that is often unacknowledged in a supposedly egalitarian US society: the very real effects that class has on your mindset, the course of your life and your choices. Some of it due to necessity, some of it due to the things you put on yourself, being self defeating. There are a whole lot of nasty class issues that are all over this novel that I wouldn't expect to see, especially given how unattractive it makes some of these characters seem. And they are not truly resolved, not even at the end, which seems realistic, rather than romanticized, as one might expect. So an extra star for that and for some occasionally lovely writing, oh, and finally, for not talking down to your audience about the classical music that plays a large part in the plot here. That would have been beyond tolerating, however understandable the urge to overexplain might be to a non-expert audience. I can't really recommend this on its writing merits, but I imagine there are some who might enjoy this story. Just not me.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-06-23 00:00:00 Leroy Tate It's never easy to write about tragic and premature death. Many writers have tried, and have lost their footing, stumbling on the thin obstacles of sentimentality and bathos. The result is a feeling of manipulation on the part of the reader. I'm pleased to state that Ayelet Waldman navigates this topic with confidence and sensitivity, elevating this book of families unraveling with considerable aplomb. Instead of focusing on the tragedy itself, which many lesser writers might do, she asks important questions about how we survive when our world collapses: where do we find refuge or sanctuary? In music and the arts? Children? Hard work? Each other? How do we experience meaning again...and what do we do to seek redemption? Red Hook Road takes place in Maine, on the eve of a wedding between two mismatched families: the New York Copakens who have adopted Maine as their own and the Tetherlys, a local family of far lesser stature. In the first several pages, the dynamics are set up: each of these families will equally suffer an unbearable loss. The book is divided into four sections, representing four separate Fourth of July weekends; the first, second, and third anniversary of the tragedy. We learn more about each of the characters -- the mothers and fathers, the sister and brother, the world-renown violinist grandfather, and the Cambodian adoptee, Samantha, who just happens to be a musical genius. Each of these characters is so authentic that he or she could walk off these pages. Each, in his or her own way, is a survivor. One character, Ruthie, muses: "Maybe, now more than ever some kind of statement was required, a refusal to submit to loss, to let it work its mischief on them. And maybe it was that kind of stubbornness in the face of grief...that could, in the end, redeem them all." There is much to learn in this book about the human condition: love, marriage, loss, and survival. Red Hook Road is lyrical, beautifully paced, and a testimony to how we evolve and grow...even in the worst of times.