TEST
Susan Wilson writes in a quiet, unassuming manner that is evocative nonetheless. In Hawke’s Cove, she tells of a relationship between a man and a woman that lasts from World War II until very nearly the end of the 20th century. This author brings to life some small-town folk who, though rather ordinary, come across as vibrant and very real.
It is 1944 and Evangeline Worth has inherited her grandmother’s beloved ramshackle farm in Maine’s Hawke’s Cove. Her architect husband John is fighting for peace in Europe and she is trying to regain her equilibrium after the stillbirth of a baby girl. She has fled her city life; she cannot tolerate the sympathy offered by family and friends. One day a fighter plane crashes in the cove. Shortly after, some clothes disappear off Vangie’s clothes line, and the lines of some neighbors. Not too long after this, Joe Green wanders into her life.
Although on some level she realizes Joe Green is the pilot from the downed plane, she accepts him without question, takes him onto her farm, and puts him to work. Just as Vangie slowly becomes part of the community, Joe does as well. The two fall into a friendly routine, rebuilding the farm, yet careful never to cross the bounds of propriety, even when Vangie is notified her husband is missing in action. If you’ve ever noticed the way in which ballroom dancers communicate without words, how their bodies move together by some silent pull, you’ll understand something of Vangie and Joe’s relationship.
The town’s residents have a sort of “know, don’t know” policy when it comes to Joe, and Vangie and the local sheriff lie to the military authorities looking for the downed pilot, now considered a deserter. This close call causes Joe and Vangie to act on their feelings. The very next day, Vangie receives word her husband has been found. When she goes to tell Joe, he is gone and she must return to her former life.
All this material is provided in part one of Hawke’s Cove from Vangie’s perspective. Part two is considerably different – chapters are written from many points of view – from those who knew Vangie and Joe on Hawke’s Cove then, and from those who know each separately in the early 1990’s. It is in this second part that the author’s talent truly shines. We meet Vangie’s husband John, who came back from war a changed man, only to discover his wife had changed as well. We meet Vangie’s son and Joe’s daughter, and hear from Joe, who does not see himself as the man Vangie saw during the war. Joe sees himself as a coward, not a survivor, as a man who hurt his eventual wife and two children order to protect his secret.
Author Wilson ably creates characters who have acted dishonorably, and yet are not immoral people. By allowing the reader to come to know Joe in the first half, we are able to understand his actions as a deserter, described by himself in the chapters he “writes” in the second half of the book.
In fact, all the chapters “written” by Joe and John are keen and insightful, and readers who came to know Joe and Vangie during the first half of the book will have to reconcile those wounded but loving people to the effects their actions had on others later on. Shortly after his return from the war, husband John asks Vangie to sell the farm, which she does without question to escape her guilt. That part of her life is locked away, presumably forever.
But the reader later discovers that is not the case, and that these two people had a remarkable influence upon each other for decades, even though they did not meet or talk during all that time. Though the author’s creation of a relationship between Vangie’s son and Joe’s daughter is somewhat serendipitous, it is also romantic, and allows the author to create an ethereal ending for Vangie and Joe.
Hawke’s Cove is a a quiet and unassuming book that nonetheless will grab your attention. I stayed up long past my bedtime to finish it, and was glad I did. Author Wilson creates characters who seem very real, and manages to create a believable story without any villains. Give it a chance; I think you’ll be glad you did.
Grade: B
Book Type: Women's Fiction
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 24/02/00
Publication Date: 2001
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.