by Cathie Pelletier
The tiny, fictional village of Mattagash, Maine, the setting for this energetic first novel, is not a place most people would choose to visit. Miles from the rest of civilization and inhabited by inbred, narrow-minded citizens whose greatest thrill comes "when someone dies who isn't supposed to," the town is mired in poverty and provincialism. It appears to have been completely overlooked by the 20th century. (The book is set in 1959.) At first glance this backwater doesn't seem to be a place you'd even want to read about. Marge McKinnon, aging spinster descendant of the town's founding fathers, is on her deathbed. Her impending demise is the occasion for a reunion of the motley McKinnon clan: Marge's younger sisters, Sicily (a lifetime Mattagash resident) and Pearl (who long ago fled her hometown for Portland), their husbands and a passel of bratty children and grandchildren. Pelletier introduces several characters in slapstick episodes—for example Pearl's family, the Ivys, get into a raucous, muddy row at their campground. These scenes would not be funny even in the TV sitcoms they seem to be modeled after. When the author stops playing solely for laughs, however, the characters become more believable and appealing, and Marge lingers longer than expected, allowing time for several entertaining subplots to develop. Pelletier, who grew up in Maine and now lives in Nashville, conveys the feel of life in this small town: the stifling isolation—and the lack of hot running water—that makes people dream of leaving, as well as the rural beauty and sense of community that make them stay. By the end, Mattagash doesn't seem such a bad spot to have spent a few hours after all. (Macmillan, $16.95)
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