Joyce Maynard's own story contains interesting enough elements to make a novel of its own. In After Her (William Morrow, 2013, 320pages, $25.99) she turns this fact along with enough place names that belong in her real story, to weave a gripping story told from the point of view of a thirteen year old girl about a year in which coming of age is challenged by her character's growing awareness of the reality of life, it's challenges, fears, dangers, and value. Rachel and Patty Toricelli grow up in a lonely house with their depressed mother keeping to herself in her room and their detective father, a romantic who flits in and out of their lives, a visitor. Their life is made up of exploring their world, mostly on foot or bicycle, in yet to be fully developed Marin County, California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, with unusual freedom and wide-ranging imagination. Since Rachel, approaching adolescence, imagines herself a budding writer, they make up stories as they explore the mountain wilderness dominated by Mt. Tamalpais behind their house and imagine the stories played out on their “drive in movie,” the television screens seen through the rear windows of their neighbors' homes. They invent the lives of the characters and the neighbors whom they observe. And then, twenty-one year old Charlene Grey is raped and murdered in the rugged mountain park. Their father Tony, is the detective in charge of the investigation. Eventually, twenty-one young women are found murdered in the large wilderness area as fear rises in the community, which demands action.
Mt. Tamalpai State Park - Marin County, California
Rachel, the
narrator, and her younger sister Patty observe the life in their
community, comment upon it, and make up what they don't understand.
Rachel, at thirteen and on the cusp of adolescence, is invited into
the realm of popular girls in her junior high school, as her father's
work as a detective becomes increasingly prominent. She uses her
unique position to, mostly, invent information to continue to
maintain her status with her newly welcoming crowd, as even Teddy
Bascom, the most popular boy in the school and something of a cypher,
takes an interest in her, despite the fact she sees herself as
unready for him. Rachel's responses to his increasingly demanding
gropings in a home seemingly inhabited solely by kids, is sad,
touching, and funny. At age thirteen, Rachel has yet to have her
first period and suffers “the fear I would never become a woman.
The fear that I would.” Her ultimate rejection of his advances
along with her father's falling reputation in the community due to
his lack of success at finding the Sunset Strangler, as the serial
killer has come to be known, spells the death of Rachel's brush with
conventional popularity. But as an observer of herself and the scene
around her she grows and develops. Meanwhile, Patty, three years
younger, has become obsessed with basketball and shows a growing
talent for the game.
After Her
is a complex, layered, and nuanced novel which defies sub-genre
classification in the realm of fine writing, probably an advantage,
but for some forms of popular writing a distinct disadvantage. It
contains elements of taught mystery writing, a touching coming of
age story, a domestic tragedy. It could appeal to a mature adolescent
girl, but is pretty strong stuff, but is essentially and adult book.
The story of Anthony Toricelli's downward spiral is touching and sad,
capturing much of the quality of a good “search for father” tale.
There are even overtones of the supernatural here, as Rachel, in the
extreme sensitivity of her age, experiences insights akin to
clairvoyance. The continuing horror of the search for a serial killer
coincides with the drama of Rachel and Patty's insistence on bringing
their knowledge of the State Park behind the house leads increasingly
to the fear that they will be involved directly with the killer. This
interlocked series of incidents and relationships creates an
effective dramatic tension overlaying the entire work, giving it
great strength to draw a reader into the lives of the characters and
the events of the novel. The complexly layered and ultimately tragic
relationship between Rachel and Patty gives the novel even greater
impact. Even the lengthy wrap-up from the point of view of the
successful adult novelist Rachel becomes, which at first seemed
awkward and forced, becomes an effective tool in the hands of this
masterful story teller.
Joyce Maynard
Perhaps
some of the verisimilitude of After Her
grows from the first person narrative never being too far removed
from the persona of Joyce Maynard, the author. The locales, even
including Keene, NH, of the story track many of those associated with
Maynard's life story itself, leading the reader to suspect that much
of the novel is actually autobiographical in some way. Maynard writes
this about herself, “I've been a writer all my life. Over those
years, I've worked as a newspaper reporter, columnist, radio
commentator (I was Liberal-of-the-Day on CBS radio at the age of 19,
on a show called Spectrum) . For eight years, I published a
syndicated column about my life called "Domestic Affairs",
but when my life got increasingly complicated (I got divorced) and my
children grew to the age where it was no longer a good idea to write
about them, I ended the column and turned to writing fiction. One of
my novels, To Die For, was made into a terrific movie, directed by
Gus van Sant , in which I can be seen in the role of Nicole Kidman's
lawyer. My memoir, At Home in the World, published in
1998, engendered a fair amount of controversy at the time of its
publication --still does, in some quarters.” After Her
is Maynard's eighth novel since 1973. She has also published extensive
memoirs and other non-fiction, including an account of her youthful
affair with J.D. Salinger. As a celebrity author, she's more than
worth a little attention on her own.
After Her(William Morrow, 2013, 320 pages, $25.99) by Joyce Maynard is a
gripping page turner and a thought provoking meditation on the pains,
along with some joys, of growing up solitary and much inside oneself.
Her narrator is a complex and engaging young woman whose acute
observations of the world surrounding her enrich and complicate her
life while bringing her to near disaster. After Her
is an excellent read. I received the book as an electronic galley
from the publisher through Edelweiss: Beyond the Treeline. I read it
on my Kindle.
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