"THE CONDITION" by Jennifer Haigh (A-)

This novel is a fascinating "Rashomon" type portrayal of a dysfunctional family years after they have gathered together at their Cape Cod seashore estate for a visit during the summer of 1976. None of them realize this yet, but this will be their last visit together. Even their wonderful musty old lodge with its crackling floorboards, creaking doors, and salt-stained windows will soon be lost in spite of the fact that it has been in the family for more than 150 years.

Roy Drew will lose this lodge and also the law firm that his father had founded because of his many ill-advised business decisions. Martine Drew, a sophisticated New Yorker and a successful executive at an advertising agency in Manhattan, will decamp for the Southwest.

Frank and Paulette Drew McKotch will end up divorcing over, among other things, "the condition." The title of the book overtly refers to the medical condition of their daughter, but it could just as easily refer to everything else in their lives. They come from vastly different backgrounds and have far different goals in their lives. Their three children will all grow up to be even more different, and distant, than their parents.

This wonderful novel by Jennifer Haigh could be the ideal summer read, especially if your tastes run to intimate family portraits. It might be easy to say that this is a family in crisis, but there really is no crisis; it's just that the family members evolve to a point where they realize that they have nothing in common with each other and that all they share are a history and a surname.

The concept of the study of a family in disintegration might not be the kind of light summer reading that you are looking for, but the way that the author approaches this story is most affecting, interesting, and, ultimately, involving. I found myself drawn in and deeply curious about where it was going to go. This certainly is a testament to Jennifer Haigh's extraordinary writing style, which is nothing short of brilliant.

Surprisingly enough, this book is not at all dreary in tone or style or even in its outlook, as there is always hope for resolution and a rapprochement
between the members of the family. Much of the appeal of this book is in the way in which the author approaches everyone in a nonjudgmental fashion. Her approach is clinical rather than emotional, and as a result the story ends up becoming something of a mystery as to how each of the family members will end up.

Introduced merely as a plot point, Roy, his wife, Anne, and Martine Drew are all summarily dismissed after that summer visit and are only later mentioned in passing. Haigh instead chooses to portray the far more diverse family of their sister, Paulette.

The family dynamics and the emotional landscape of the McKotch family are introduced during the summer of 1976 when Paulette McKotch, the youngest of the Drew siblings, is 35 years old. Of the McKotch children, Billy is 14, his sister, Gwen, is 12, and Scott, the youngest, is only nine. During that fateful summer visit of 1976 a tiny incident, hardly more than an observation, starts events in motion much like a small leak in a dike that turns into a raging torrent. Soon everyone will be washed away in the flood of recriminations that will follow

Haigh then waits for more than two decades until the late 1990's to analyze the family when they are all adults. She paints a portrait of each of the family members in which their life and their attitudes towards the other family members are viewed solely from their perspective. It is easy for Haigh to be nonjudgmental as none of the McKotches are bad people. They all make mistakes and it seems that none of them are able to be honest and open with each other, or even with the other important people in their lives. Typical New England reserve, I guess...

A "Rashomon" kind of experience develops as we read each section in sequence. The first section is devoted to the outlook of Paulette, then to that of her husband, Frank, and finally to each of their three children in succession. By immersing ourselves in these characters, we see life through their eyes and we initially sympathize with their travails. We are momentarily convinced that their problems are the fault of others, but then we move on to the other members of the family and read their story. Now we get a different view, and equally valid points are scored in assessing blame. The question then becomes whether or not everyone will remain hobbled by their emotional baggage or become mature enough to make adult decisions on their own.

Each section reads like a short story with little or no connection to the other sections about the other family members. This lack of a dramatic arc did bother me somewhat even though it is understandable since Frank and Paulette have long since been divorced and everyone lives apart. Fortunately, the end of the novel grants us an understanding of greater nuance and complexity with a family portrait that finally fleshes out into a satisfying stage of completeness. 2008, HarperCollins Books, 390 pages.