Greene makes us see these things so clearly that they seem like sensual daydreams right there on the page.” — Arizona Republic
“Written gracefully and with great sensitivity... in the tradition of Kent Haruf’s Eventide and Mark Spragg’s An Unfinished Life.” — Howard Frank Mosher, author of Disappearances and Waiting For Teddy Williams
“Well-crafted... Greene is a reasonably engaging storyteller... intimate, minimalist scenes capture the flavor of smalltown life. — Publishers Weekly, Praise for Mirror Lake
“A story of love, betrayal, and violence that kept me turning the pages to the end.” — Susan Cheever, Praise for Mirror Lake
“A bright new voice in American Literature.” — Brett Lott, Praise for Mirror Lake
“Greene’s novel unfolds... with words filled with beauty and strength.” — Tampa Tribune, Praise for Mirror Lake
Greene makes us see these things so clearly that they seem like sensual daydreams right there on the page.
Written gracefully and with great sensitivity... in the tradition of Kent Haruf’s Eventide and Mark Spragg’s An Unfinished Life.
A bright new voice in American Literature.
A story of love, betrayal, and violence that kept me turning the pages to the end.
Greene’s novel unfolds... with words filled with beauty and strength.
The rugged, rain-lashed landscape of Eden, Vt., becomes a palpably biblical backdrop for a moving generational tale in Greene's second novel (after Mirror Lake). The Bender brothers Charlie, 18, and Owen, 17 find their lives reshaped by the will of their formidable late father. To Charlie goes the family restaurant, Charlotte's; to Owen goes $10,000 and a directive to find himself. Greene flashes to years when Charles Sr. pitted son against son in Iron Chef-like matches picking his successor, it's now clear. Charles's will also bequeaths his wife the freedom to return to city life, which she promptly does. Working himself to the bone in the kitchen, Charlie seeks an assistant chef, and Owen's high school girlfriend, Claire Apple, resurfaces with impeccable timing, having acquired both beauty and culinary savvy in her time away from Eden. The two fall in love, marry and have a son, Jonah, setting the stage for a smoldering Cain-and-Abel conflict when Owen returns after years of adventures. Greene's evocative descriptions of nature, food and love infuse this novel with sensuality and a nostalgia-tinged melancholy. And if Greene's reach for scriptural allegory feels presumptive, the book is redeemed by its careful consideration of the burden, and blessing, of legacy. Agent, Nick Ellison. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
In his second novel, Greene (Mirror Lake) returns to Eden, VT, this time exploring what family means and to what extent kinship aids in survival. Eighteen-year-old Charlie and 17-year-old Owen have grown up in the kitchen of their family restaurant. When their father commits suicide, Charlie inherits the eatery while Owen gets $10,000. The brothers had been best friends until their father, as controlling in death as he was in his kitchen, tears them apart with the reading of his last wishes. Owen uses his inheritance to leave Eden and spends the next 17 years in the U.S. Merchant Marines, during which Charlie makes a nice life for himself, improving the already stellar reputation of the restaurant; marrying Owen's old girlfriend, who shares his passion for food; and fathering a son. When Owen finally returns, will the small town of Eden be big enough for the three of them, or will some family relationships have to be severed permanently? Though the food descriptions are mouth-watering, Greene doesn't break any new ground here; the book is a pleasant enough read, but by no means essential. Recommended for larger popular fiction collections, particularly in the Northeast.-Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati State Technical and Community Coll. Lib. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Two brothers in rural Vermont carry on dutifully after the suicide of their father, in Greene's uncomplicated, heavily moralistic debut. Charlie and Owen are young men ready to start their lives when their father, the owner and chef of the notable local restaurant Charlotte's, kills himself in the woods near their home. He had lung cancer and not long to live; his will decrees what the various family members are supposed to do now that he's gone. He leaves older son Charlie the restaurant, judging that he has "the right instincts and temperament to be a good, and maybe even a great, chef"; Owen gets $10,000 and an invitation to head out into the world to seek his fortune; the remainder of the dead man's money goes to their mother Charlotte, so she can return to her native New York City, where she was happiest. Owen leaves his girlfriend Claire, a pretty local girl, and joins the Merchant Marines, traveling the world for the next 18 years. Meanwhile, dutiful, responsible Charlie puts all his heart and energy into Charlotte's, leaving no time for romance until Claire, having learned the culinary arts during a year abroad in France, answers an ad for help at the restaurant. Charlie, who'd always admired her from afar, falls head over heels and proposes marriage in a matter of weeks; Claire, seeing no better prospects and rather enjoying the quiet, stable life at home in Vermont, accepts. Years of married contentment and a son follow as the couple work side by side at Charlotte's. Then handsome, wayward Owen returns and finds Claire as appetizing as ever. When Charlie gets badly burned in the kitchen and is hospitalized for several weeks, brother and sister-in-law embark on an affair. Loveeventually wins out in this quiet melodrama, though it's hardly a thrill as described in Greene's uninflected prose.
