Unfortunately, I don't remember much about this book. Seems to me it was sad. ( )

Margaret is abandoned by her mother while she is a small child and grows up in a small Virginia town with her father, who is an Episcopal priest and who, even before her mother decamps, is given to bouts of deep depression. At the very beginning of adulthood, Margaret is asking herself what her life will become, puzzling over whether she has any destiny of her own or will continue to serve as a helpmeet to her beloved father.

This book delves deeply into the human spirit and into the sometimes surprising turns of fate that can set our feet on a course of action, or dramatically limit our options. As a character, Margaret is appealing but never predictable (which is a very good thing in a literary character). The novel is character driven, and its strength does not lie in the story but in the natural evolution of action by meticulously drawn characters. ( )

I loved this for its depiction of a family and a community. What I will re-read the book for though, are the portraits of Margaret and her father as two intelligent, complex and essentially good human beings trying to make sense of their lives. ( )

Abandoned by her mother at age six, Margaret Gower grows up with her loving, but frequently depressed father. An Anglican minister, Father Gower is the quintissential high-church Anglican, and a model of patience and compassion. Like Margaret he has been fundamentally changed by his wife's departure. Margaret is the model devoted daughter, but much responsibility falls on her young shoulders. And much of Margaret's mind is taken up with trying to figure out the enigma that was her mother. Though both Margaret and her father have been deeply wounded by her mother's absence, this is not a story of ruined lives or sadness. It is a beautiful story about a family and a community, and how they deal with loss. ( )

Read it years ago but really liked it. ( )