At Last
A Novel
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
“An astounding achievement.” —Megha Majumdar * “Her best book yet.” —Paul Yoon
Set in midcentury America, At Last explores a rich family saga centered on two fierce and competitive matriarchs whose intertwined lives reflect the complexities of family, tradition, and personal ambition. “Whole lives course down the decades, and every minute is conveyed with Silver’s signature combination of toughness and grace,” (Laird Hunt).
Helene Simonauer and Evelyn Turner are two formidable women whose paths cross when their children marry. Both women are sharp, cunning, and unwavering in their conflicting beliefs about marriage, responsibility, and family and, most pressingly, their efforts to vie for the love of their shared granddaughter.
At Last paints a vivid portrait of the American Midwest, capturing the essence of a time and place where societal norms and personal aspirations often clashed. Marisa Silver’s narrative weaves together the lives of Helene and Evelyn, from their vastly different childhoods through the pivotal events that define them. Both intimate and expansive, and capturing the complexities of ambition and love with humor and insight, At Last is a testament to what happens when an unintended, even unwanted relationship turns out to be a central one that defines a life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the perceptive latest from Silver (The Mysteries), two strong-willed women clash after they become entangled by their children's marriage. In 1971, Helene Simonauer travels from Cleveland to Omaha, Neb., for the wedding of her son, Tom, to Ruth Turner. There, she feels snubbed by the Turner family, especially Tom's mother, fellow widow Evelyn. A flashback to Evelyn's teenage years in the 1930s recounts how she lied about getting a part-time job in Omaha as an excuse to spend her Saturdays away from her controlling mother. Helene's West Virginia childhood, on the other hand, was shrouded by grief over her siblings' sudden deaths. When Ruth and Tom have a daughter, Francie, in Cleveland, Evelyn moves to town and Helene becomes fiercely competitive with her fellow grandmother. She even takes a young Francie ice-skating despite not knowing how to skate herself, causing Francie to fall and break her arm. By the early 1980s, Ruth and Tom's marriage becomes strained following their move to New York City, while Helene struggles to find purpose and Evelyn weighs her long-term suitor's marriage proposals. Silver strings together evocative vignettes depicting a series of consequential moments, each of which serve as prisms into the characters' complicated lives. It's a resonant family drama.
