A man of about 60 who had read the American edition of this novel — it was published there a couple of months ago — told me lately that it was a ‘grown-up book’. Among other things, I take him to mean that besides recognising the difficulties of love, it embraces them; and that love is not the exclusive domain of the young and frisky.
Toby Maytree is a poet who lives by the beach on Cape Cod. He ‘hauls houses’ for a living, but he has an insatiably inquisitive mind: ‘He pitched into the world for plunder, probed it with torches, filled his arms and brain with pieces botched — to what end? Every fact was a rune.’ Lou speaks ‘three languages and held her tongue in all of them’. They fall in love — he loves her ‘immeasurable reserve’— and get married.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in