Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2005
Publication Title
Spoonwood (Darby Chronicles)
Department
Department of English and Creative Writing
Abstract
Ernest Hebert's series of novels set in Darby, New Hampshire, has been hailed by the Boston Globe as "one of the most interesting accomplishments of contemporary American fiction . . . [a series] into which the texture of class is as skillfully woven as it is in Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County." After almost fifteen years, Hebert has returned to this rich literary landscape for a new novel of the changing economic and social character of New England. Hebert's previous Darby novel, Live Free or Die, recounted the ill-fated love between Freddie Elman, son of the town trash collector, and Lilith Salmon, child of Upper Darby gentility. At its conclusion, Lilith died giving birth to their son. As Spoonwood opens, Freddie, consumed by grief and anger and struggling with alcoholism, is not prepared to be a father to Birch. But as both his family and Lilith's begin to maneuver for custody of the child, Freddie embarks on a course of action that satisfies none of them. Once again, Hebert masterfully conveys the natural and social landscape of contemporary rural New England. Grounded in complex, fully realized characters, Spoonwood offers Hebert's most optimistic vision yet of acceptance and accommodation across class lines.
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Hebert, Ernest, "Spoonwood" (2005). Dartmouth Scholarship. 3958.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/3958
Also available as E-Pub
Comments
This title is part of the Darby novels series which include:
A Little More Than Kin
Whisper My Name
The Passion of Estelle Jordan
Live Free or Die
Spoonwood
Howard Elman's Farewell