Beware of preconceived notions. When I pulled the battered copy of Up Island from a box of discarded books a friend had asked me to disperse, I saw the author’s name. Anne Rivers Siddons? Isn’t she a romance writer? Or does she do quick-read shallow best sellers? But reading the jacket flap, I saw the novel was set in Atlanta (I love anything set in the South) and in Martha’s Vineyard (a place that is as exotic to me as Afghanistan.) So I pulled the book and placed it on my “to-read” shelf. Someday I would get to it and have a quick sojourn to places both familiar and unknown.But oh, was I wrong. My preconceived notions were banished as much as protagonist Molly Redwine’s are in the story. Siddons writes literarily, with much grace. Her vocabulary is rich (there are words I used in Scrabble play that I know how to spell, but thanks to Siddons, now know how to use.) Her characters are colorful and wounded. And all that makes for a read that is satisfying and entertaining.Molly Redwine, an Atlanta well-to-do society wife of a Coca Cola executive, has the perfect life: a daughter who has given Molly a grandchild, a son on the cusp of high school graduation and looking forward to university, a father who adores her, and a husband who is hard-working and supports her—he, the only love she has ever known. For Molly, she has the notion that she has a wonderful family and family is everything. But her life begins to unravel when her husband unceremoniously dumps her for a younger, shrew of a woman. Molly is devastated and in denial. But when she follows a friend—for respite from all this—to the friend’s summer home on Martha’s Vineyard, Molly sees a place to hide. She decides to stay the winter, and she soon encounters an aging, sick Portuguese woman; the woman’s bed-ridden, child-like cousin; and the woman’s one-legged, cantankerous son. Add to the mix Molly’s father, who comes to stay a while, and a pair of overindulged, willful swans. Molly’s post-husband life becomes full and almost unmanageable, but it forces her to confront her notion of what family really is.Siddons is a superb storyteller, crafting a coming of age story for the middle aged set. I read a lot of young adult novels, which quite often tell of a teen’s ripening into adulthood. But here Siddons confronts Molly Redwine’s stunted growth at middle age, and through her machinations, brings the character, finally, into adulthood. It is masterful. And it makes me want to seek out more of Siddons’s books.
When I go to the library with my long list of books to read, and my tiny-town library has not a single title in evidence, I usually browse the shelves and pick up things randomly. This was one of those books.I do have a process (shocking, I'm sure). It's not totally random. I look for authors by whom the library has a stocked a lot of books. This means people like this author. They want to read more. I discovered Elizabeth Berg this way, and the delightful Miss Julia series. Yes, I said delightful, and yes, I meant it.Anyway, Anne Rivers Siddons better be paying rent to the Thomas Beaver Library, because she's taking up a good chunk of the S section. I picked Up River because it got some glowing reviews on the jackets of other books.I really liked the beginning. The main character was feisty yet wounded, and I really related to her and wanted her to do well. As the hits kept coming, never letting up an iota, as though the author was constructing this novel as an example of how to "ratchet up the tension" in a creative writing class, I was able to forgive because the woman really toughed it through. But when the book leaves Atlanta for Martha's Vineyard, things took a turn for the worse.I didn't like the new cast of characters, I liked the old ones, the ones she was dealing with the beginning of the book. I didn't like the death and disease, the swans annoyed me, I mean jeez, get over yourself and get back to Atlanta to shove that hussy out of your house!So I skimmed the rest of the book, pouncing on the all-too-brief moments when the main character heard news from Atlanta, and it ended very unsatisfactorily. Maybe I'm too action-oriented. I don't know.
What do You think about Up Island (1998)?
this is about a woman , her husband left her for a younger woman. she moved to marthas vineyard, in exchange for living in the cabin she is taking care of 2 swans and 2 old housebound women, and the son that had his leg removed due to cancer. the 2 old women lived in one house, the son in another and the lady in a thirdher mother died suddenly and her dad couldnt cope. she had him move in with her and help take care of the swans and cabinshe became close with the son and then one of the women di
—Kat
I enjoyed this novel, published in 1997. The plot is one that is not surprising, some of the characters are rather grotesque on first meeting, but the general idea of putting aside one's pain (loss of spouse, divorce, illness) by thinking of others is a good one. The dreams Molly has about her dead mother did not strike me as real at all, but the other configurations I could believe. The swans are important: they mate for life and bring such joy to the characters, giving them release just by their very presence. Nature can do that. This book probably is for women readers.
—Barner
I love reading Anne Rivers Siddons stories. I love the world she takes me to. This is the second book of hers I've read and I plan to read a lot more. I like the way she contrasts the development of the seasons and nature with her story and characters. The main character, Molly, was entirely believable to me. I've known women like her - the author's description of her denial behavior in coping with the difficulties she encounters is so real. Molly drove me crazy in places because it was obvious there were things happening, but Molly just chose not to deal with it - reminded me of my mother. But, I care about Molly and identify with her losses. Siddons characters are multi-dimensional. The swans were an important part of the story for me. I love all birds to begin with and knew that swans mate for life and they are very precious birds. Family being an important plot of this story, the swans were perfect for representing the quality of fidelity. I loved the relationship between Molly's father, Tim, and the swans. I couldn't understand why Molly didn't have that same sensitivity. There were a few places that I feel the author left hanging - like the mention of Molly cutting Dennis's hair, but she never did? Or, the bed sores of Luz that got treated and mentioned only once? That was part of the ongoing demands on Molly and I kept waiting to get to the part of some resolution on these two issues. But, that's just a small part of the story. I learned more about Martha's Vineyard. I had no idea they still had "wild" places on the Vineyard. I loved visiting it vicariously in this story. I do like the way the story ended. The maturity on Molly's part through this story is shown in the ending.
—Jo
