WEEK OF FEBRUARY 27 - MARCH 5
The Cradle
by Patrick Somerville
Fiction
Little, Brown and Company
March 2009
Two families collide in what can be deemed as one of the most intriguing debut novels of 2009. “The Cradle” by Patrick Somerville splendidly evokes, at times, curiosity, anger, empathy and even joy. How does Somerville accomplish this? He pokes and pulls at the intimate details of his characters and simple lays it all out for the imagination.
Matt Bishop is on a quest, not for himself, but at the insistence of his wife, Marissa. And it’s not that he minds, no not at all. How difficult could can it be to find an old “Civil War” baby cradle for the love of his life? He heads out in his old truck on what appears to be quick, uneventful trip, but this errand turns out to be a long journey; and along with us readers, he has no idea of what he’s getting himself into.
Marissa could not be comforted, and wouldn’t have it any other way. The cradle for the coming baby had to be the cradle she’d been rocked in as a child; not only the cradle she’d been rocked in but the cradle that was upstairs in her bedroom when she was fifteen and her mother came home one night from the grocery store, slammed her keys down on the countertop, slammed the brown crinkled bag onto the table, looked down at the floor, looked at Marissa, took the keys, and walked out the door, this time permanently. Ten days later there’d been a robbery at the house.
Somerville’s use of flashbacks are subtle and effective in convincing readers that characters like Matt Bishop and Renee Owen have a past worthy of revisiting. A cast of shady characters only add to the uniqueness of this warm, but unpredictable story.
Renee Owen mourns for a son that she hasn’t lost yet … Adam, who is off to a pointless war in Iraq. But yet she has lost someone … a love from long ago and a well kept secret that eventually finds her. Is she prepared?
Two families search for answers. From Wisconsin to Chicago, from paved streets to dirt roads, experience the sweet and not-so-sweet remnants of life where children are indestructible. They survive despite uncaring parents, predatory adults and a future full of uncertainty.
“The Cradle” is one of those rare books you just can’t put away until you’re done. Somerville, a fresh voice in fiction, keeps readers guessing, right up to the bittersweet end.
MORE BOOKS PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT
How To Build A Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn’t Have to Be Forever
by Jack Horner and James Gorman
Non-Fiction
Dutton
March 2009
Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey With His Wordless Daughter
by Robert Rummel-Hudson
Non-Fiction
St. Martin’s Press
February 2009