The Maytrees

Come and discuss the book The Maytrees by Annie Dillard (description below). There are several copies at the Lincoln Public Library, and it does not appear to be in high demand (at the time I'm posting this, all eight copies are available to check out). The Maytrees From HarperCollins' website: Toby Maytree first sees Lou Bigelow on her bicycle in postwar Provincetown, Massachusetts. Her laughter and loveliness catch his breath. Maytree is a Provincetown native, an educated poet of thirty. As he courts Lou, just out of college, her stillness draws him. Hands-off, he hides his serious wooing, and idly shows her his poems. In spare, elegant prose, Dillard traces the Maytrees' decades of loving and longing. They live cheaply among the nonconformist artists and writers that the bare tip of Cape Cod attracts. Lou takes up painting. When their son Petie appears, their innocent Bohemian friend Deary helps care for him. But years later it is Deary who causes the town to talk. In this moving novel, Dillard intimately depicts nature's vastness and nearness. She presents willed bonds of loyalty, friendship, and abiding love. Warm and hopeful, The Maytrees is the surprising capstone of Annie Dillard's original body of work. From Bookmarks Magazine: Aspiring poet Toby Maytree returns from World War II to Provincetown, where he meets statuesque Lou Bigelow, a painter and avid reader. ItÂÂ's love at first sight for Toby, and he woosÂÂ-and eventually winsÂÂ-the quiet, unassuming girl. The bohemian Maytrees lead an idyllic life in an artistsÂÂ' colony on the shores of Cape Cod until Toby unexpectedly runs away with LouÂÂ's best friend, Deary. Shocked, Lou refuses to let jealousy and anger overwhelm her. Instead, she draws on her inner strength to forge a new life for herself and their sonÂÂ-until, many years later, fate brings Lou, Toby, and Deary back together again. Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, 1975) meditates on the mysteries of marriage and the nature of forgiveness in her second novel. Critics generally praised her erudite, lyrical prose; evocative descriptions of Cape CodÂÂ's landscape; and perceptive analyses of individuals and relationships. A few, however, voiced complaints: some character traits arenÂÂ't believable (for example, Lou and Toby never quarrel); other plot points arenÂÂ't realistic (Deary suddenly transforms herself from a nomadic beachcomber into a savvy businesswoman); and a few of DillardÂÂ's metaphors are clumsy and confusing. However, DillardÂÂ's aimÂÂ-and primary successÂÂ-is plumbing the depths of love, asking piercing questions, and making profound connections.