Nancy Clark (2) (1952–)

Lily Hill is an elderly woman living alone in a big rambling New England house, the sort of house regarded as a "home away from home" by all members of the extended Hill family. And during the summer of 1989, several Hill family members decided to take respite at the Hill family home. Lily's thrice-widowed brother Harvey arrived first, halfheartedly offering to help with various home improvements which had proven too much for Lily to handle on her own. Later Lily's niece Ginger and show more grand-niece Betsy arrived, Ginger having recently left an unhappy marriage. On their heels were Lily's nephew Alden (recently let go from his job), his wife Becky, and their four children. And finally, Harvey's grandson Arthur and his partner Phoebe paid a surprise visit.

As it turned out, no one was just visiting. Everyone was there for the duration, working through personal issues large and small, nurtured by a house that is almost a character itself. While each family member is fiercely independent, their continuous close contact fosters a certain interdependence as well. Becky takes on most of the meal planning and cooking. Letters are written and left on a table, taken to the post office by whoever happens to be heading that way. Somehow the laundry gets done, the house is kept clean (sort of), and everyone manages to both get along and avoid each other in equal measure. Over the course of a year, the family assimilates into the community and their stories develop along several interconnected threads.

I thoroughly enjoyed Nancy Clark's writing. She describes family and small-town drama with a delightful wit:
For, just a few nights ago at supper, Ginger had been talking about her firewalking seminar, one of those exercises she put herself through when she was still trying to save that marriage of hers -- or had it, in the end, given her the impetus to leave Louis? Lily, listening carefully for once because it all sounded so unlikely, hadn't caught her point as Ginger seemed to claim that her personal firewalk across a glowing pit dug behind a Ramada Inn on the outskirts of Wichita had led her both toward and yet away from poor Louis. He had become poor Louis in Lily's mind, although not for having lost Ginger -- rather, frankly, for having won her in the first place. (p. 73)

Every single paragraph is packed with detail just like that passage. Clark's style is wordy, and requires careful reading; small details buried in lengthy descriptions often become significant later on. As the year progresses family members are involved in romance, crime, small-town corruption, and no small measure of personal growth. As I read this book, several passages brought tears to my eyes -- tears more sentimental than sad. And there were many times I sat back and smiled as I watched a series of events come together in a satisfying way. The ending included a bit of both. This is a rich, rewarding, thoroughly enjoyable read. show less

My first Nancy Clark was [Away From Home] and I read it in a state of literary euphoria -- you know -- that sensation when you are reading a book where the words are delicious, so that the place, the characters, the story -- a whole world becomes palpable to you. In this, the third book and last book of the trilogy about the Hill family of Towne, Massachusetts, appropriately Lily has opened a farm stand, finally finding, in her 70's her vocation, growing and selling vegetables. Never show more married, Lily owns the big family house and all Hills and people, Hills and others have a way of gravitating to her house in times of need and change. It is summer and one beloved niece, terminally ill, has come to stay; the rest of the clan collects and things happen or don't happen. The point of view slides almost slyly from character to character from Petal, the model, who arrives with some great-nephews who've become fabulously wealthy dot-commers and never leaves, to great-niece Julie who announces her engagement but then never once during the interval between the announcement and a day or two before the weddin, allows the family even a glimpse of her too-perfect sounding fiancé. Best of all, for me, are the two little girls, aged 7 who flitter and sneak and battle and giggle their way through the novel. I'm giving it a five for being a perfect domestic novel. show less

Jane Austen meets Jonathon Franzen when the wildly disparate members of Lily Hill's family decide to descend on the family home for a visit. At first they are greeted with smiles, clean sheets on the bed and fresh flowers on their bureau top. But then they stay....and stay...and STAY.

This is not a novel to be read quickly. One must settle into the language and savour the nuances revealed through its elaborate descriptions. Once settled in, the reader is soon rooting for Betsy, rolling eyes show more at Ginger, rooting for Uncle Harvey's romances at the Towne Senior Center, and wondering just what it was that William did to send him into hiding from the FBI & will he persuade Becky to follow him into exile. Presiding over it all, secure in her possessions and common sense is Aunt Lily, a matriarch any family would truly love to have grace their family tree.

Read, savor & enjoy! show less

Really slooooooooow to get started.

Not the train wreck bore of Away from Home but less effervescent than The Hills at Home. July and August has lots of charm and humor but it really needed a good editor.