by Andrea Barrett

This is an early work by the author who wrote later on the most wonderful set of short stories, Ship Fever.  This novel is about a family on Cape Cod mainly set in the 80’s told from the perspective of the mother, the daughter, and the stepmother.  None of the characters are endearing, but it does capture the era well and gives realistic portrayals of women in passive, defiant, or breakdown modes.  It reminded me of Marge Piercy’s writings about women.