- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Washington Square Press (1 Jan 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671038222
- ISBN-13: 978-0671038229
- Product Dimensions: 21.9 x 14.1 x 1.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,626,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
For a long time, Claire and Tom Templeton have wished in vain for a child. What they have instead is a house, a charming old Cape that is their consolation. In the gray chill of a Massachusetts autumn, the Templetons and two local handymen, loners and eccentrics, work to rebuild the ramshackle home. As the house takes on a new life, Claire begins to understand its tangled history -- and to reconcile her own past and renew her hope for the future.
About the Author
Bret Lott is the author of five highly acclaimed novels, The Man Who Owned Vermont, A Stranger's House, Jewel, Reed's Beach, and The Hunt Club, as well as two collections of widely anthologized short stories, A Dream of Old Leaves and How to Get Home, and a memoir, Fathers, Sons, and Brothers. He lives with his wife and two sons near Charleston, South Carolina, and teaches at the College of Charleston and Vermont College.
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"Remote," I said. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
"Remote," I said. Read the first page
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3 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A Riveting Drama
7 April 2000
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book. Somewhat dark, it explores the stages of a marriage, and gave me a real understanding of the pain of infertility.
It is also an interesting look at becoming a homeowner (after a long hunt) and how what starts as a interest in the house's history and a casual association with the previous owner's black sheep grandson and his retarded friend grows to a caring involvement in two sad lives. As Claire works toward an acceptance of her inability to become a mother, a much longed for dream, she works through the changes that infertility and new home ownership bring to her marriage; and comes to learn that life will indeed go on, and that while she more than likely will never give birth, she will be presented with other outlets for her nurturing and caring. Not perhaps what she wanted, with rewards of their own.
Lott exhibits the wonderful storytelling ability here that he later showed in Jewel. As with Jewel, a happy, jolly tale, but a satisfying, thought provoking read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Requires Fortitude
14 Dec 2004
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is for the Viking Penguin Inc. edition published in 1988, 256 pages.
After years of trying to have children, the doctor told Claire Templeton, a lab technician who sticks things into the brains of live rabbits, and her husband Tom, that they cannot. In the narrative present, Claire and Tom, having more or less accepted their barren fate, contemplate the purchase of an old house in need of repair. With the permission of the realtor, Claire and Tom attempt to appraise the property alone, but encounter Grady, the grandson of the owner and his retarded friend, Martin.
That's the plot basis for 173 pages, which provides opportunity for digressions on the humane treatment of rabbits for scientific enlightenment (although accidents happen), and the divining technique of a retarded savant for finding rotted clapboards. The writing is beautiful, although bogged with sensory detail overload, my pet peeve, and there are rich analogies, although I'm too thickheaded to grasp them. For example, on page 92 the protagonist Claire, on tip toes, bends a branch and plucks a leaf, which she rolls into a tight tube and carries for ten pages until, "The leaf, an even duller green than I'd thought it would be, lay crumpled in my hand." Get it? I didn't.
So why four stars? Around page 174, I began to suspect I hadn't been paying attention. It's a memorable tale, and a good one, but it requires fortitude.
After years of trying to have children, the doctor told Claire Templeton, a lab technician who sticks things into the brains of live rabbits, and her husband Tom, that they cannot. In the narrative present, Claire and Tom, having more or less accepted their barren fate, contemplate the purchase of an old house in need of repair. With the permission of the realtor, Claire and Tom attempt to appraise the property alone, but encounter Grady, the grandson of the owner and his retarded friend, Martin.
That's the plot basis for 173 pages, which provides opportunity for digressions on the humane treatment of rabbits for scientific enlightenment (although accidents happen), and the divining technique of a retarded savant for finding rotted clapboards. The writing is beautiful, although bogged with sensory detail overload, my pet peeve, and there are rich analogies, although I'm too thickheaded to grasp them. For example, on page 92 the protagonist Claire, on tip toes, bends a branch and plucks a leaf, which she rolls into a tight tube and carries for ten pages until, "The leaf, an even duller green than I'd thought it would be, lay crumpled in my hand." Get it? I didn't.
So why four stars? Around page 174, I began to suspect I hadn't been paying attention. It's a memorable tale, and a good one, but it requires fortitude.
good story
13 Feb 2001
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book's story very much. The only thing that wasn't interesting to me and even made me cringe were the parts involving the research with the rabbits, since I do love animals. I couldn't really thoroughly read those parts of the story because They were way too detailed for me. But as for the basic story, it was very good. The last 2 chapters were SO GOOD. The ending of this book was exceptional. Bret Lott always writes books with the kind of plots that make you really think about the characters' situations. As I stated, I enjoyed this story and haven't read anything quite like it, actually. Definitely worth reading.
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