The End of the Point

January 14, 2013
It’s 1942, and the Porters are coming back to Ashaunt, Mass., the piece of the New England coast they’ve always come back to, no matter that the Army is building barracks and viewing platforms there. Graver (Awake) opens her fourth novel with a beautifully evoked glimpse of the very first arrival at Ashaunt—that of the Europeans—and the native people’s eventual sale (or, alternately, “bargain, theft, or gift”) of the land. She then moves omnisciently and believably through the minds of Bea, the Porters’ Scottish nanny, and the wild Helen, the oldest daughter. As 1942 gives way to 1947, 1961, then 1970, and finally 1999, Graver also moves fluidly across time, all on this same beloved piece of land. Bea is a wonderful character, and Graver is incredibly good at evoking past, present, and future, and the ways in which they intersect. Unfortunately, the latter sections of the book, which focus mostly on Helen, no longer a wild girl, and her adult son Charlie, aren’t quite as strong, perhaps because the issues of generational strife, blowback from drug use, and land development are more familiar. That said, Graver’s gifts—her control of time, her ability to evoke place and define character—are immense. Agent: Richard Parks, the Richard Parks Agency.

March 1, 2013

Graver's (Awake) family saga spans the latter half of the 20th century. The wealthy Porters have a summer home in Ashaunt Point, MA, which plays a significant role in the lives of the family. The novel's point of view varies among Bea, the Scottish nanny for the Porter's youngest daughter; Helen, the oldest and wildest of the Porter girls; and Charlie, Helen's oldest child. Bea narrates one summer on the island in 1942--but is it about her or the children? Helen's letters and diary entries dominate the middle section, which is followed by her son Charlie's struggles to find himself on the Point in the 1970s. VERDICT The last section brings us to the near present and ties up the loose ends, but doesn't really answer the question, Who is the subject of the novel? The way in which the narrative perspective switches between characters may not be for everyone but makes this an excellent choice for book clubs. [See Prepub Alert, 9/10/12.]--Pamela Mann, St. Mary's Coll. Lib., MD

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.