The dependents : a novel

Title:

Author:

Summary:

"After the sudden death of his wife, Maida, Gene is haunted by the fear that their marriage was not all it appeared to be. Alongside Ed and Gayle Donnelly, friends since college days, he tries to resurrect happy memories of the times the two couples shared, raising their children in a small New Hampshire town and vacationing together at a lake house every summer. Meanwhile, his daughter, Dary, challenges not only his happy version of the past but also his view of Maida. As a long-standing rift between them deepens, Gene starts to understand how unknown his daughter is to him--and how enigmatic his wife was as well. And a lingering suspicion seizes his mind that could upend everything he thought he knew"--Provided by publisher.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

278 pages ; 25 cm

Genre:

Domestic fiction.

Subject Term:

Widowers -- Fiction.

Fathers and daughters -- Fiction.

Grief -- Fiction.

Loss (Psychology) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Little, Brown and Company,

Publication Date:

2018

ISBN:

9780316473873

Publication Information:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

Call Number:

DION

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003405522	Adult Fiction	DION	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

One of TIME magazine's best summer reads, a "wise" ( Entertainment Weekly ) and "resplendent" ( O, The Oprah Magazine ) debut that follows a new widower confronting the truth about his long marriage.

After the sudden death of his wife, Maida, Gene is haunted by the fear that their marriage was not all it appeared to be. Alongside Ed and Gayle Donnelly, friends since college days, he tries to resurrect happy memories of the times the two couples shared, raising their children in a small New Hampshire town and vacationing together at a lake house every summer.

Meanwhile, his daughter, Dary, challenges not only his happy version of the past but also his view of Maida. As a long-standing rift between them deepens, Gene starts to understand how unknown his daughter is to him -- and how enigmatic his wife was as well. And a lingering suspicion seizes his mind that could upend everything he thought he knew.

Katharine Dion's assured debut moves seamlessly between Gene's present-day journey and the long history of a marriage and friendship. Rich and wonderfully alive, The Dependents is the most moving kind of drama, an intimate glance into the expanse of family life and the way we must all eventually bridge the chasm between what we want to believe and what we know to be true.

Author Notes

Katharine Dion was born in Oakland, California. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was awarded the Iowa Arts Fellowship. She has also been a MacDowell Fellow and the recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation. She lives in Berkeley, California. The Dependents is her first novel.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Death and unavoidable truth shatter the serene surface of a man's golden years in Dion's fine debut, set in the hills of New Hampshire. Gene Ashe's wife dies suddenly, leaving Gene to sort through the physical and emotional remnants of their life. Their 49-year marriage was entwined from the start with college friends Ed and Gayle Donnelly, but Gene is beginning to question the nature of their friendship. As they reminisce about raising their children in the same small town, Gene is forced to reconsider past events and grapple with choices that left him disconnected from family and friends. Gene's daughter, Dary, meanwhile, remains emotionally distant from him and doesn't want to hear his entreaties about why she should get married instead of having a child as a single parent. Amid his grief and the realization that he can't remember when life started to feel so hollow, Gene stumbles into an unexpected relationship. But without his wife's companionship, new doubts constantly arise, and Gene must understand what in his life is worth living for and what made him worth loving: "love was not enough... but now it was too late for him to adopt a new delusion." The narrative travels back and forth through Gene's life as he tries to pick apart the performative from the heartfelt acts of love. The result is a beautiful story of communication and commitment. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Review

DEBUT In this first novel, set in a small New Hampshire town a few years ago, Gene Ashe is mourning the sudden loss of his beloved wife of many years. Now that Maida is gone, he is alone; his daughter, Dary, is a single mother living on the other side of the country. Gene has always wondered why he and Dary don't get along as well as he would like. Now his grief adds to his concern about his daughter and granddaughter Annie. To complicate matters, Gene becomes involved with his caretaker, a pleasant but emotionally remote older woman. He can't stop thinking about the past, especially his relationship with longtime friends Ed and Gayle Donnelly. Gene broods over former regrets as he makes a winter visit alone to an old haunt, the lake cabin that his family used to share with Ed and Gayle and their children. What if he is remembering the past all wrong? VERDICT Promising young novelist Dion portrays a lonely older man in a sympathetic, believable way in this insightful story about friendship, love, and loss.-Leslie Patterson, Rehoboth, MA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.