That Old Cape Magic

In Richard Russo's new novel called That Old Cape Magic, he uses two weddings and a couple funerals as plot points to tell his story of an autobiographical sounding character Jack Griffin.

As this book begins, Jack is making the same trip once again to the cape that he use to make with his parents. Jack's parents singing their own version and calling it "That Old Cape Magic" as they drove across the Sagamore Bridge and began the summer of a disappointing family vacations. Jack is second guessing some of the decisions he has made in his life, and he is no longer sure where his talents lie.

I found this novel to have deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle age man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled marriage, his daughters new life and finally , what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has.

The storytelling is flawless throughout with moments of great comedy and also others of rueful understanding and heart stopping sadness. Richard Russo goes on to say....The family is where the best ...and worst things happen to us . Whether we embrace it or try and escape it , the family is at the center of our lives.


ls