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Ellen Isaacs | |
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In Here on Earth, March Murray and her teenage daughter Gwen return to a small town outside of Boston where March grew up. They are planning to stay for a few weeks to help clear out the belongings of an old friend who recently died, but they end up staying once March reunites with her childhood "soulmate" Hollis, and Gwen falls in love with a boy from town. They stay at great cost, not only because it means separating from March's husband and Gwen's father, but also falling into the dangerous world of Hollis, who has become an angry, isolated, controlling man. Everyone else in the town knows this, but March can't see it because of the power of their earlier relationship. The book shows how March & Hollis' relationship unfolds as March goes deeper and deeper into denial. In the background are March's old friends who try to support her, and who are coping with the choices they made along the way. I think one of Hoffman's goals with this book is to show how some people can get drawn into abusive relationships without realizing what is happening. She also makes some comments about the compromises people make to keep the things that matter to them. She made her points, but I didn't find the story or the characters especially compelling. Although the narrator's point of view switches amont different characters, I thought that only March's motivations were fully explored; Hoffman switches to other characters mainly to move the plot along and to justify the turns in the story. Hoffman has an informal writing style that is clear and easy to understand, if not especially graceful or polished. In all, I didn't regret reading this book, but it wasn't one I savored or that stayed with me after I put it down each day.
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