STakeholderS' - Doczine

herlife | book clubLaborDayby Joyce Maynardreview by catie watsonThe narrator of Joyce Maynard’s compelling novel about familyand loss is Henry, a man in his 30s who’s looking back ona life-changing summer in the late 1980s when he was 13.Henry lives with his divorced mother Adele in a small New Hampshiretown. Within the first few pages, we realize that Adele is an emotionallyfragile woman who rarely leaves home, and that Henry hasassumed the role of her protector. He is lonely and bored and has spentthe summer before 8 th grade playing with his hamster, doing crosswordpuzzles and fantasizing about the girls in school.A classmate once told Henry that his mother looked like Gingerfrom Gilligan Island. She is a former dancer who has retained hergrace and beauty, but she is so agoraphobic that she stockpiles frozendinners and cans of soup so she can avoid leaving home. With LaborDay weekend approaching, Henry convinces her to take him on arare shopping trip to the local Pricemart for school supplies. In thestore, Henry is approached by a tall stranger who appears to be a storeemployee. The man’s leg is covered in blood and he asks Henry forhelp. Perhaps because they are desperate for human contact, Henryand Adele agree to give the stranger a ride.Once the trio is in the car and driving away from the shoppingcenter, the stranger introduces himself as Frank Chambers and revealsthat he has just escaped from a local prison by jumping out of thewindow of the prison hospital. It is at this point in the story that webegin to realize that Adele has become so disconnected from the worldthat she doesn’t care about her own safety and is willing to put Henryin danger. Frank is polite and apologetic, but he is desperate be free.Adele takes him home and over the next five days he’s the perfecthouseguest. Despite the fact that he is recovering from an appendectomyand a cut leg, he prepares tasty meals, bakes a pie and even tackleshome repairs. He provides Henry with some much-needed male support,teaching him how to change a tire and throw a baseball.Frank, Adele and Henry become an unlikely family over thesweltering Labor Day weekend. It quickly becomes apparent that thereis a strong attraction between Frank and Adele. She again shows a lackof concern for her son’s welfare by initiating a passionate affair withthe escaped prisoner despite television news reports that he say he isa convicted murderer. As an unwilling witness to the couple’s growinglove, Henry’s emotions swing between relief that someone else is30 HERLIFEnewyork.com