The story of a newly divorced young mother forced to reckon with the secrets of her own childhood when she brings her daughters back to the big house where she was raised.
Jones, an editor at The Atlantic magazine, is a deft writer, and her exploration of the confusing experience of childhood violation is somehow both subtle and unsparing ... A masterpiece of carefully crafted perspective and tone ... This is a woman—and a novel—determined to avoid confrontation and drama, and it’s surprising just how hypnotic that is to witness in Jones’s carefully calibrated telling ... Margaret’s plight may feel tragic, but it’s transformed by sheer force of will—and Jones’s tempered prose—into something heroic, even hopeful.
A quiet and introspective examination of mothers, daughters, and the ripples of trauma ... Beautifully written, with flashes of humor to break up Margaret’s suffocating intensity and dread, this will appeal to readers of slow-burn, character-driven fiction.
Smoothly written and sharply observed, but curiously unengaging ... Debut novelist Jones nails the details of a dysfunctional family dynamic ... Despite its emotional accuracy, however, the novel seems oddly distanced ... Doesn’t make for compelling fiction ... Authentic but alienating ... On the positive side are Jones’ nuanced depictions of Margaret’s relationship with her daughters and of her lifelong friendship with Biddy.
