After a consistent streak of speculative fiction I was ready for some proper literature and this did the trick. A methodically plotted and meticulously executed story of a struggling marriage set in the summer of 1953 against the backdrop of McCarthy’s witch trials…this novel turned out to be a fictionalized autobiographical account of the author’s childhood, something the readers don’t get to find out until the afterword. So the author’s fictionalized counterpart is Jake, a precocious 10 year old, but the novel isn’t told from his perspective, it’s very much an adult world with adult crises, the main one of which seems to be the reconciliation of what dreams and reality, the what might have beens against what is, even city against suburb works here as a metaphor for reluctantly accepting life’s currents. This is a very quiet sort of story, not much action of any sort, purely character driven work, but as such it’s very well done and even when the characters aren’t immediately or easily likeable they are compelling in their struggles and battles. Representationally the book does a terrific job of recreating a place in time and presenting fraught family dynamics that are essentially placeless and timeless. Nevertheless, because it’s such an internal sort of narrative, it makes for quite heavy reading and you should really be in the mood for it, otherwise it may end up seeming as plodding and tedious as the actual Long Island. I found myself enjoying this book, it was psychologically well observed and emotionally intelligent and suited the mood for a slow afternoon read. Thanks Netgalley.