Lots of pre-publication brouhaha in my neck of the Twitter woods around Katherine Heiny’s Early Morning Riser which so often leads to disappointment but something about its blurb made me think it might live up to that promise so I put up my hand for a copy. Set in a small American town, always a lure for me, it follows Jane who meets the handsome Duncan when she locks herself out of the house dressed in her pyjamas.
The conversation was like the apple dumplings, perfectly crimped around the edges and and sealed off. Jane couldn’t get in
Jane is the newly appointed second grade teacher at Boyne City’s school. She loves to visit the local thrift store, adapting the clothes she finds there although never quite getting them right, often lighting on knickknacks she’s sure will add style to her home. Duncan is the furniture restorer with a sideline in locksmithing who answers her call for help, handsome and easy company. These two seem made for each other, so Jane thinks, and they slip into a relationship which she hopes will progress to love. There is one fly in the ointment: Duncan seems to have slept with just about every woman in Boyne City and beyond. Jane finds herself constantly faced with one of Duncan’s exs, an endless source of speculation when he’s not with her, not least his beautiful ex-wife with whom Duncan continued to sleep even after her marriage to the distinctly odd Gary. Duncan makes no secret of his plans to never marry again but Jane’s undeterred. Over the seventeen years Heiny’s novel spans, Jane will continue to yearn for romantic love – although not always for herself – pick up a burden of guilt that leads to more happiness than she’d hoped for and, ultimately, experience a quietly joyous epiphany.
Sometimes when Duncan talked all evening about lumber, or table legs, or the art of modern woodworking in general, Jane told herself that if they were married, she would feel like killing her own husband
I’ve left that synopsis as sketchy as I can while giving a flavour of this lovely, funny and absorbing novel. So much of its enjoyment for me were the small shocks which move Jane’s life in a different direction. Heiny combines Anne Tyler’s sharp social observation with a pleasingly sly wit. Her often idiosyncratic characters are affectionately portrayed, particularly Jane from whose sometimes puzzled perspective the story is told. Boyne City is smartly drawn, the kind of place where the bowl bought at the local thrift shop housing an artful arrangement of dried flowers turns out to be a wedding present given to one of your dinner party guests, now divorced. I loved it. Undemanding but immensely enjoyable, it’s the perfect novel to lose yourself in when times are tough, and the ending is a delight.
Fourth Estate: London 9780008395094 304 pages Hardback
“Undemanding but immensely enjoyable” – sounds great!
It is! Highly recomend it, Liz.
I’m an Anne Tyler fan and this sounds great. Thank you.
You’re welcome! This one should hit the spot nicely for you, then.
I’ve seen this floating about the Twitterverse too – sounds like a lovely diverting read.
It’s a lovely refresher if you’re feeling jaded with all that’s going on in the world.
I hadn’t heard of this one at all. I can see why you liken the author to Anne Tyler. It does sound like a good read with a nice small town setting.
She has that knack of sharp but affectionate characterisation that I associate with Tyler. A lovely novel.
In theory this doesn’t sound like my sort of read, but I trust you Susan! And I also like Anne Tyler, so this sounds a treat.
Oh, that’s a lot of responsibility but I feel safe in that Tyler comparison.
You got me at Anne Tyler, of course (I’m currently working my way through her novels again) but isn’t this the one where a sudden thing happens that changes everything around for the heroine (trying not to introduce spoilers!)?
Not a comparison I make lightly, and you’re right there are a few events that change the direction of Jane’s life, one in particular. Highly recommend this one.
I’ve seen (and heard) a lot of love for this novel on Twitter and via various bookish podcasts, so it’s great to see that you feel it delivers on that promise. I’m also wondering whether Standard Deviation might get a little fillip from Heiny’s name being back in the spotlight – another novel that seems to have generated plenty of warmth and affection amongst its readers.
It’s a lovely, intelligent read full of perceptively drawn characters, Jacqui. Defintely one to recommend to Anne Tyler fans.
Oo I read great things in The Week about this – I don’t often read new fiction, but this does sound great. Might wait for the paperback. Thanks Susan!
You’re welcome, Simon. This one’s definitely worth making an exception for!
That apple dumpling simile seems so simple and obvious that I can’t believe it hasn’t been written a million times…but it’s just that kind of simplicity that can resonate so powerfully, with the right balance of predictability and surprise…this really does sound terrific for Tyler fans!
Publishers often toss around those comparisons willy-nilly but I’m pretty careful with them. You can trust this one!
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