by May Sarton
First published 2015
Frances Wyeth arrives at the old family house in Maine for another summer with her husband Sprig's extended family. Surrounded by relatives, she feels cut off from everyone, including Sprig himself. At fifty, Sprig adores his wife but also craves escape. He wants Frances close yet wishes she would go. Their son Caleb shows nothing but hostility. Their unmarried daughter Betsy carries a child. One night of intense intimacy breaks through the walls between Frances and Sprig, but Frances recognizes it as desperate grabbing rather than true union. She remains a mother of grown children who still feels unformed, waiting to become an adult. Sprig questions everything about himself as husband and father. He moves through his days uncertain, memories of his younger self pulling at him. The story follows a marriage under strain and a family navigating change, exploring how small daily moments and major life events shape who we become.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, marriage-in-crisis
Setting: Maine
Period: 20th-century
254 pages · Kindle Edition · Open Road Media