Commuters

Widowed, of modest means and in her late 70s, Winnie shocks her family and friends by deciding to marry again. The groom, Jerry, is roughly the same age and also widowed. So far it’s a happy picture. Until we meet Jerry’s family. Apparently the groom has millions in the bank, money he has earned building two companies from the ground up, money his daughter Annette wants to remain in the family. Her worst fears are confirmed when it is revealed that Jerry has bought the town’s famous—albeit dilapidated—mansion for his bride.
Two other couples share the “commute”: Winnie’s daughter Rachel and her husband Bob, and Jerry’s just-out-of-rehab grandson, Avery and his girlfriend, Nona. The reader “commutes” to and from the show more different couples’ points of view as Tedrowe switches between relationships. Quite a tour de force: writing credibly about couples in their late 20s, mid-40s and late 70s.

Ms Tedrowe’s characters are complicated people. I fell in love with Bob, Winnie’s son in law, who is on disability leave from the law firm where he works: a fall from a ladder inflicted head trauma that would require months of rehab. Rachel is frustrated—and I think envious—that Bob has decided to use these months to write a book. Their finances dwindle until they are forced to move into the self-contained apartment in their house that they used to rent out. And when Rachel turns to Jerry for some help, and by help I mean $$$, the reader begins to sympathizes with Annette.

Jerry’s grandson, Avery, grows so much during the course of the novel. He begins as a selfish, self-absorbed individual estranged from his parents and not terribly connected to his grandfather. As he warms up to Winnie and Jerry, Avery matures, his heart becomes large enough to contain more than his own desires and wants. His girlfriend, Nona, is a talented singer of modern art songs and here Tedrowe does a superb job of describing sounds. Reading about a song can so easily kill the mood. Tedrowe is equally skillful when she dishes up fusion menus through Avery, an avid foodie and budding chef. She knows how to taste with words.

Commuters ends in an untidy, realistic way. Through a neat literary device, we learn that Bob’s book is going to be published under the title “My Commute: Head Trauma, Recovery, and Finding My Way Back”. Rachel doesn’t understand it as her husband doesn’t commute to his job. Winnie offers another meaning of the word: “To change, or exchange. To give one thing in exchange for another.”

The title of this post is taken from a photograph in the story: enthusiastic volunteers fundraising for the renovation of the town’s train station hold a banner proclaiming that “We Are All Commuters!” With Commuters, Ms Tedrowe offers the reader thoughtful and thought-provoking views of change and impermanence, love and loss, learning and growth within the immensely satisfying carbs of a story well told.

8.5 out of 10. A story with substance. show less

The idea of love in the Autumn/Winter of life is a very hopeful thing. The idea of marriage in the same stage of life is very brave. Here's the story of Winnie and Jerry and their decision to get married at well into their 70s and the repercussions that decision has on those around them.

Told from the points of view of Winnie, her daughter Rachel, and her step-grandson Avery ~ Commuters tells the story of our commute through life and how each of our commutes effects the others in our life.

I love how this story didn't shy away and, in fact, dealt head on with what it means to get married again late in life and taking on the responsibility of not only a new marriage but a new home. How family and friends react to these decisions and what show more happens to you in what may be the short time you have left.

Along the way we hear the story of a family trying to rebound from a devastating accident and a young man trying to find his way back from drug addiction. There are many complicated emotions and actions taking place in this story and they're all told with great depth and compassion. Tedrowe does a great job of dealing with the messy, uneven, wonky connections made in life, love, and family. By the end I was left happy I took the commute with her. show less

My mother's father died when I was 7 or 8. I remember going to Mississippi with my folks for the funeral and all the family being there and I especially remember my grandmother sending us all home shortly after the funeral. She said she needed to learn to live alone and the quicker she got started the easier it would be. In later years when people would ask her if she'd ever remarry she'd always say that she was very happy as it was and didn't need some old man to take care of. She continued teaching reading at the local elementary school until she retired and took all kinds of trips all over the US and the world. It was very cool to watch her remake her life and expand her horizons.

When she was 70 she became reacquainted with a man she show more and my grandfather had known in college. In fact, they had double-dated with him and his wife who had died the year prior to them meeting again on a fall foliage tour. They fell head over heels in love and remarried and my grandmother started a whole new life. They had ten good years together before he passed away and it was so life-affirming to see them together, so happy and so in love.

Commuters is a multi-generational tale of what happens when two older people fall in love and marry. Both of their spouses are gone and they join forces to create a new life together. Told from the perspective of several family members, the novel explores all of the complexities of love late in life - the surprising resentments of grown children, the necessities of navigating inheritance and changing relationships, the simple pleasures of finding a new life partner. With strong clear voices this simply told and elegant novel was a real pleasure. I wish my grandmother was alive to read it - she would have approved. show less

Really enjoyed this one. Not nearly as predictable as it seemed from the outset. A great depiction of an American family.

An interesting, though not compelling, read about old age and the ramifications thereof, for the old and for their families.

OMG - There was no 'action' in this book. Two selfish daughters and a selfish gransdson....no family development....no need for 350 pages....read "Shogun" instead.

I don't care about any of these people