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Red Hook Road

by Ayelet Waldman (Goodreads Author)

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 2,844 ratings · 640 reviews

As lyrical as a sonata, Ayelet Waldman’s follow-up novel to Love and Other Impossible Pursuits explores the aftermath of a family tragedy.

Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good in...more

Hardcover, 343 pages

Published July 13th 2010 by Doubleday

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Jun 29, 2010 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's never easy to write about tragic and premature death. Many writers have tried, and have lost their footing, stumbling on the thin obstacles of sentimentality and bathos. The result is a feeling of manipulation on the part of the reader. I'm pleased to state that Ayelet Waldman navigates this topic with confidence and sensitivity, elevating this book of families unraveling with considerable aplomb.

Instead of focusing on the tragedy itself, which many lesser writers might do, she asks importa...more It's never easy to write about tragic and premature death. Many writers have tried, and have lost their footing, stumbling on the thin obstacles of sentimentality and bathos. The result is a feeling of manipulation on the part of the reader. I'm pleased to state that Ayelet Waldman navigates this topic with confidence and sensitivity, elevating this book of families unraveling with considerable aplomb.

Instead of focusing on the tragedy itself, which many lesser writers might do, she asks important questions about how we survive when our world collapses: where do we find refuge or sanctuary? In music and the arts? Children? Hard work? Each other? How do we experience meaning again...and what do we do to seek redemption?

Red Hook Road takes place in Maine, on the eve of a wedding between two mismatched families: the New York Copakens who have adopted Maine as their own and the Tetherlys, a local family of far lesser stature. In the first several pages, the dynamics are set up: each of these families will equally suffer an unbearable loss. The book is divided into four sections, representing four separate Fourth of July weekends; the first, second, and third anniversary of the tragedy. We learn more about each of the characters -- the mothers and fathers, the sister and brother, the world-renown violinist grandfather, and the Cambodian adoptee, Samantha, who just happens to be a musical genius.

Each of these characters is so authentic that he or she could walk off these pages. Each, in his or her own way, is a survivor. One character, Ruthie, muses: "Maybe, now more than ever some kind of statement was required, a refusal to submit to loss, to let it work its mischief on them. And maybe it was that kind of stubbornness in the face of grief...that could, in the end, redeem them all."

There is much to learn in this book about the human condition: love, marriage, loss, and survival. Red Hook Road is lyrical, beautifully paced, and a testimony to how we evolve and grow...even in the worst of times. (less)

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Feb 21, 2012 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Red Hook Road is a terrific novel. It tells the stories of two families as different as they could be. The working-class Hewins are native Mainers, a family that keeps Maine going during the cold months when the summer people return to the big-city. The Copakens are a sophisticated Jewish family from Manhattan. The novel begins when Jane Hewins son marries Iris Copakens daughter and a tragedy immediately ensues. The next four summers are trying for both families.

This book is for reader's who en...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, vine, fiction

This book was quite a disappointment. It began with a terrible tragedy – the death of a young couple in a car accident on their wedding day. The rest took place during the following few summers in Maine as the families dealing with their loss attempt to fulfill the legacies of the deceased. I was uninterested. The characters were unsympathetic and I found many of their interests, like boxing and sailing, boring. The only engaging plotline involved the bride’s virtuoso violinist grandfather and h...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Kaitlin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, new-england

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 23, 2012 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Didn't get anything out of this. I picked it up because it was mentioned in the sunday times book review in the same article as Love Bomb, which I loved. coincidentally or not, Waldman was also mentioned in another article in the same day's review, bc she is the wife of michael chabon and he was interviewed. Anyway, I haven't read her other books but didn't like much at all about this one. There was nothing new - two families struggling with loss, one wealthy, summering-in-maine types, the other...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In literary history, what are most remembered are the characters and their inner turmoils. Even to those unfamiliar with To Kill a Mockingbird's plot, they know Atticus Finch and Scout. A reader may not remember how Alice met The Mad Hatter, but they know the characters. Red Hook Road excels in character study. If the entire novel stayed true to this, it would be Waldman's tour de force. Alas, it does not.

The novel begins at the Red Hook, Maine, summer wedding of Becca Copaken and John Tetherly....more

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Mar 26, 2012 Catherine Woodman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book--which has kind of a downer beginning--it is not giving away too much to say this, because it happens in chapter 2--we are introduced to a lovely young couple, who have made some choices that their parents aren't all that happy with but can tolerate, and they get married--only to get killed en route to the reception. The book has multiple layers related to dealing with early and unexpected death--the parents, the siblings, the community, the rest of the family, everyone...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Rocky rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book starts out with a tragic car accident that kills the newly wed lovers Becca and John. The remainder of the book covers the following four years of Becca's family summering at their home in Maine.

The two mothers share the task of trying to grieve in their own way, not wanting to deal with each other along the way.

Familiar with resort towns, I think the author did a great job defining the differences between summerfolk and the locals. I felt very sympathetic for John's mother Jane who...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Andrea Arana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Red Hook Road tells the story about 2 families, The Tetherlys and the Copakens, who were bonded by marriage and tragedy struck. One of the family's daughter suddenly dies, two siblings who find a kind of comfort and solace in each other, and a girl whose talent for playing the violin, turns these 2 families from terrible to wonderful. when i read this book, it explained so much detail about the loss of a daughter's death. I don't know what it's like to lose a loved one, but from seeing the faces...more

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Oct 15, 2011 CC rated it 3 of 5 stars

Basically, the novel follows the parents of the bride (the somewhat snotty upperclass Daniel and Iris) and the mother of the groom (blue-collar Jane) for three years after a tragedy involving their children. The book was divided into each subsequent summer after the tragedy, which was a brilliant way to do it.

The siblings of the bride and groom grieve and hook up, a prodigy finds a mentor and later a home, a marriage dissolves. The writing itself is very well done. The characters are fleshed ou...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Annie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: deserve-3-and-a-half-stars, fiction

Red Hook Road opens with two families celebrating the love between a bride and groom on their wedding day. However, severe tragedy strikes, and both the bride and groom are killed in a car accident on their way to the reception. The rest of the book examines four chronological summers after the death and loss of a beloved young couple (John and Rebecca) and the journey through grief each family member takes. There is Iris, Rebecca’s strict, serious, planning, professor Mother; Daniel, Rebecca’s...more Red Hook Road opens with two families celebrating the love between a bride and groom on their wedding day. However, severe tragedy strikes, and both the bride and groom are killed in a car accident on their way to the reception. The rest of the book examines four chronological summers after the death and loss of a beloved young couple (John and Rebecca) and the journey through grief each family member takes. There is Iris, Rebecca’s strict, serious, planning, professor Mother; Daniel, Rebecca’s father, who finds solace in boxing and distance from his family. Ruthie, is the shy, witty younger sister who slowly creates her own life. Mr. Kimmelbroad is Rebecca’s grandfather, a talented violinist and survivor of the Holocaust. John’s family includes, Jane, his stalwart mother, who cleaned for Rebecca’s family and Matthew, his younger brother who becomes obsessed with finishing his brother’s dream yacht. He takes on his brother’s life in a way and begins a love affair with Ruthie. Finally, there is Samantha, John’s niece, a musical prodigy.
These characters lives weave and intersect throughout the years and while each is undergoing the pain of loss, there are class, religious, marital tensions that crackle throughout. It was interesting because I cared for the characters, but didn’t love any single one, they all had flaws and irritating habits. If I was forced to pick, it would be Ruthie.
The writing of Red Hook Road is exquisite and elegant. The ending wasn’t my favorite, but could have a parallel symbolism to the larger plot.
I liked the literary devices used in this book, the nameless characters at a wedding at the beginning and then at the end of the story; the rest of the book unraveling because of what happened at that wedding. The setting is as much a character in the book as any person, I had the keen urging to go spend a summer in East Red Hook, Maine.

Some language, death is a tough subject for some, one steamy scene.

Favorite Quotes
Daniel never took himself seriously, which for much of their life together had made him a good counterpoint to Iris, who, as she was painfully aware, took everything too seriously, including herself.
When things were not running smoothly, however, when they found themselves at odds, as they had so often lately, this disparity of temperment served only to heighten the fissures and fractures in their relationships: she was a nag, and he was a slacker, and everything they said and did seemed calculated to offend, provoke, or drive the other insane.
Ruthie was not surprised that her mother had become more remote and inaccessible in her grief, nor did she begrudge her for needing to do it; but understanding and accepting her mother’s reaction did little alleviate her own loneliness.
How to explain to this sweet and naive child that there was nothing she could do, nothing that any of them could do, that would take away her pain? Just as the unveiling hadn’t been enough, so would a “celebration” fail to fill the void. There was only time to rely on, and even time never quite suffice.
She would apologize for having been careless with the feelings of the people she loved, too wrapped up in her own expectations to see them for who they were. She would say she was sorry for having imposed her will on Ruthie, and proud of Ruthie for refusing, in the end, to bend to her. She would tell Ruthie that she should follow her own heart and be and do what she loved, and not worry, for even a moment, about what anyone else expected from her.(less)

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Jul 25, 2011 Charlie Quimby rated it 4 of 5 stars

A wedding briefly unites two families before the bride and groom are killed in a horrific crash. Even before the accident, the relationship between the two mothers was fraught with class tension and personality differences — the groom's mother cleans the summer home for the bride's well-to-do parents. In the aftermath, members of both families cope with loss in ways that compound each others' pain.

Waldman is particularly good at the nuances of the relationship between the mothers who are now "r...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 19, 2011 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldeman needs no introduction, mainly because you just need to go out and get this book.

Oh Ayelet, how you love to break my heart. I knew what I was getting into; after all, I read the book flap. But I didn't know that I wasn't going to be able to get out of bed for want of reading just two more pages. I didn't know that I was going to cry and long for these two people whom I never met, and truly only spent seven pages (if that!) with. I didn't know that my heart would...more

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Jan 21, 2011 J rated it 2 of 5 stars

Interesting character studies, but no plot - just glimpses into others' lives. I loved the first 100 pages, tolerated the second 100 pages and then read the rest just to finish. The extreme detail was at times interesting and other times tedious. The story would oddly focus on an unimportant moment and then jump over months of action with a fleeting reference.

I was repulsed by the graphic descriptions of female body parts and sexual acts, especially around page 200 when two characters dive into...more

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Jan 21, 2011 Maureen Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-challenge

One of the things I loved most about this book occurred at the very end. Ruthie (the main character, as it turned out) was wondering whether one simple choice could affect everything. She said that just taking a left where one could have taken a right might have been the reason for things to turn out as they had. This was a theme for the book, as the sentiment was echoed in Iris' thoughts about the butterfly effect just after her daughter Becca was killed in a car accident on her wedding day.

Rut...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Mindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a good read. I loved this paragraph at almost the end of the book:
"That was true, Iris would sometimes think, about marriage: it was only a boat, too. A wooden boat, difficult to build, even more difficult to maintain, whose beauty derived at least in part from its unlikelihood. Long ago the pragmatic justifications for both marriage and wooden-boat building had been lost or superseded. Why invest countless hours, years, and dollars in planing and carving, gluing and fastening, caulking...more

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Oct 16, 2010 christa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I come to you with, curiously, no complaints about Ayelet Waldman's "Red Hook Road." I believe the fiery ginger has written her best novel to date, possibly the best novel she can write, and it is pretty damn good.

This is what literary limbo looks like. It's a place where you read a book, enjoy said book, probably won't try to jam it down anyone's pants with a breathless "You. Must. Read. This." But if anyone asks your opinion of the work, you will beam like a Glo-Worm, and maybe throw in an app...more I come to you with, curiously, no complaints about Ayelet Waldman's "Red Hook Road." I believe the fiery ginger has written her best novel to date, possibly the best novel she can write, and it is pretty damn good.

This is what literary limbo looks like. It's a place where you read a book, enjoy said book, probably won't try to jam it down anyone's pants with a breathless "You. Must. Read. This." But if anyone asks your opinion of the work, you will beam like a Glo-Worm, and maybe throw in an appreciative sigh. List 101 things you liked about it -- the pace, the characters, the tone. It's so neutral that you can safely pass it along to your mother as an emergency birthday gift with positive results and without being accused of only reading books about men who -ectomy their own leg bones to use as weaponry.

Kudos, Waldman.

The prelude is a perfectly painted portrait of a wedding day. The party and extended family arranged for a photograph. And those minor hiccups that differentiate this special day from the special day of a kazillion other couples: the flower girl can't find her flowers, the best men are hung over and still smell of a stolen toke or two. The father of the bride is wearing tennis shoes. The happy couple are childhood sweethearts -- a boat builder and a decent violin player. Becky summers in this little town in Maine that her ancestors built; John is a townie whose mother cleans Becky's family's house. The photographs are taken, the guests move on to the reception and wait the arrival of the newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Tetherly. Instead, John's brother Matt shows up, disheveled and crazed. He had been following the limousine. There was an accident. Becky and John are dead. Corpses in wedding ware.

The rest of the novel is divided into four chapters, each marking another year after the tragedy. It is a textbook of grief from different vantage points. Becky's mother Iris, and her need to control her environment, John's mother Jane, and her resentment toward these upper-crust meddlers. Becky's sister Ruthie, a second-place sibling who throws herself into school, a trajectory similar to the one her mother took. She is unable to find closure or an outlet for her pain. Matt, who takes up John's dream to rehabilitate an old sail boat with the intent of moving to the Caribbean and providing tours and leisure aboard the salvaged boat. (Then, later, falling into a super-secret relationship with Ruthie). Becky's father, at mid-life, makes a return to boxing. Becky's grandfather, an ancient violin virtuoso, finds it impossible to grieve after all the shit he has seen and people he has lost. He discovers that the flower girl, Samantha, has a ridiculous ear for music. He spends his time encouraging her gift.

The pacing of this book is perfect. As if Waldman -- who's virtual identity is that of a rapid-fire speaker, a no-nonsense loud-mouth (in a good way, IMO, but not in everyone's), who's opinions fly out of her finger tips like silver bullets -- took a deep breath and began slowly weaving a tale.

I would imagine there would be a tendency to be emotionally manipulative with the story. To really wring out the reader, and leave her cold-clocked and heaving. But Waldman takes the long way around the cheap route, finding middle ground between loving the characters, empathizing with them, but not bleeding the tear ducts dry. She handles the subject, grief, in a realistic way. While each of the characters has a different response, there is overlap in their emotions that keeps it from feeling false.

It is the last chapter, or Coda as it is called in the novel, that is ... gross world alert ... beautiful. It is the perfect finish for the story, one that doesn't answer every loose end with a neatly gift-wrapped finale. It reads almost like poetry, or a self-contained short story, and packs a pretty big Wow.

"Red Hook Road" might make my Top Ten of 2010, somewhere around No. 8 or No. 9. Mostly, it is a rainy day one-sitter when you just want to run your eyes over words, and emerge eight hours later satisfied. (less)

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Oct 15, 2010 Jessica Severson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I like Ayelet Waldman. But I think I have to recognize that I don't like her the way I like someone like Thomas Hardy, for example. I like Hardy's books but I'm not sure he and I would have much to talk about. Whereas I would be really happy to have lunch with Waldman. I like her attitude, I like her essays, I like her blunt honesty.

But. I've read 2 of her other books. I tried another and couldn't get through. And this one... well, I seriously considered not finishing it. I just don't like her...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

During a week filled with bad news, which also happened to be the first week of our vacation,I ambled to my tiny indie bookstore at the beach to buy Freedom (pre-Oprah hee haw). It was for sale nationally, but the season was winding down on the Outer Banks and the store had not ordered it to stock. Wah! So I perused and recognized Red Hook Road's author, Ayelet Waldman. I loved what I had read of her husband's work, so I bought it --full price! in hardcover! (hey -it was vacation). Back on the s...more During a week filled with bad news, which also happened to be the first week of our vacation,I ambled to my tiny indie bookstore at the beach to buy Freedom (pre-Oprah hee haw). It was for sale nationally, but the season was winding down on the Outer Banks and the store had not ordered it to stock. Wah! So I perused and recognized Red Hook Road's author, Ayelet Waldman. I loved what I had read of her husband's work, so I bought it --full price! in hardcover! (hey -it was vacation). Back on the sand, I opened it, read a few paragraphs and recognized that this book is about grieving. NO! I had enough sadness that week --I really didn't want to wallow in it. It was in my hands though and I did recall listening to a radio interview with her where she talked about a seminal life moment for her and her husband concerning a baby. I decided I could probably learn about the process of grieving so I would continue.
As I read, I found it easy to get involved with the well-drawn characters. There are enough of them to keep the action going. I did think that she was a very good, plain writer but I wasn't overly engaged.In fact, I thought the storyline was very much the same as the plot of RabbitHole which I had seen on Broadway a few seasons ago. I suspected the arc of grief is the same, but this accounting had many ways of handling that arc that were a lot like the play.I also recognized that the people I was most interested in were the women in this book - and how often does that happen? Women as the major players in a serious study.So, I read on, but with detachment...and then, I got to the last chapters. In them, she pulls the story together in a deus ex machina manner. Hackneyed, right? Don't tell my emotions. I was finishing it while sitting in a Starbucks in Hackensack. When the tears began, I thought I could keep them in my eyes, but soon they were coursing.Ms Waldman pulls it all together and pulls everything out of you at once in such a delicate,competent manner. It was so right. (less)

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Aug 14, 2010 K2 ----- rated it 4 of 5 stars

I heard Waldman on the Diane Rehm Show and then read a review of the book in Booklist (the American Library Association's phenomenal magazine) and decided it was a novel of merit.

The book was written based in part on a short snippet of a story that the author had read about a couple in NY who had been killed going from their wedding to their wedding reception with the best man also in the car.

Waldman weaves quite a tale and is able to weave into each of her characters their own ways of dealing...more I heard Waldman on the Diane Rehm Show and then read a review of the book in Booklist (the American Library Association's phenomenal magazine) and decided it was a novel of merit.

The book was written based in part on a short snippet of a story that the author had read about a couple in NY who had been killed going from their wedding to their wedding reception with the best man also in the car.

Waldman weaves quite a tale and is able to weave into each of her characters their own ways of dealing with the profound grief that results from this tragic loss. Red Hook Road takes place in Maine and draws its many contrasts upon class and traditions. The bride's family are Jewish and from NYC. They are highly educated summer people with money who have been coming to Maine for several generations. The groom's family are down easters with working class roots and a certain resentment toward the summer people who avoid the dreaded winters that make Mainers such hearty people. The groom's mother, Jane is the caretaker of the bride's family's house in the winter and her crew cleans their house all year long. The bride's mother is a domineering woman who is used to getting her own way and has deeply rooted plans for her offspring that are sidelined by their own desires.

Waldman's words are well-chosen, she sets a stage, and her book is extremely well-paced. You see how the various characters handle their grief over three summers and the twists and turns their lives take. The book is soaked with an accurately captured portrayal of loss in various ways. It is a super book for summer, but it is also a book I would recommend to someone who has had a tough time accepting a loss some years back. I tried to de-construct her writing style to figure out how she made it read as well as it did.

Indeed I would recommend this book, and it would be a great airplane read as it is a page-turner. I will look for her other books.

The author is married to novelist Michael Chabon and was lambasted some years back by the media for a comment she made that she loves her husband more than her four children, that he came first in the hierarchy. I enjoyed her interview that you can find on-line and it made reading the book a richer experience.(less)

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Aug 10, 2010 Pam Spangler rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ayelet Waldman is the wife of Michael Chabon, and was briefly famous for saying, in a small book of essays that she thought would not get much attention, that she is more devoted to her husband than to her four children.
In Maine, two young people, Becca and John, fall in love and wed. Unfortunately, the limo is involved in a horrific accident after photos but before the reception, and they both are killed. The remaining family members are left with trying to put back the pieces of their lives, a...more

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Jul 29, 2010 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just spent a month in Blue Hill, Maine with my family for summer vacation. One of the locals suggested that I pick up this new release. The novel is thinly disguised as East Blue Hill: the grange hall, the swimming cove, the co-op grocery, library, etc. I was living in this place and reading a fictional story of the same. Such fun!

A tragic event opens the story and then unfolds as a family and close knit community deals with their loss. The mothers in this book are astounding: Iris with her ex...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 10, 2010 Rebekah ODell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I literally gulped down this book. In one sitting.

First of all, allow me to confess that the real reason I pulled this book out of my TBR pile is because I think the cover design is beautiful. And I wanted to read something beautiful. I wasn’t disappointed.

Waldman’s novel opens with a graceful “prelude” — a sixteen-page description of a photographer attempting to take a large family portrait after a wedding. While the photographer attempts to wrangle various family members and configure the perf...more I literally gulped down this book. In one sitting.

First of all, allow me to confess that the real reason I pulled this book out of my TBR pile is because I think the cover design is beautiful. And I wanted to read something beautiful. I wasn’t disappointed.

Waldman’s novel opens with a graceful “prelude” — a sixteen-page description of a photographer attempting to take a large family portrait after a wedding. While the photographer attempts to wrangle various family members and configure the perfect shot, the cast of characters is presented and relationships are revealed. It sounds plodding, doesn’t it — but it was gorgeous and evocative, setting the tone for a “compulsively readable” story of two families over the course of four summers.

Immediately after the family portrait for Becca and John’s wedding, the bride and groom are killed in a horrific car accident on the way to their reception. The four summers’ action examines the aftermath — how these two very different families grieve, adapt, and evolve in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

Beyond the characters’ individual and collective grief over the loss of Becca and John, conflict is created in the relationship between Iris and Jane, the mothers of the respective bride and groom. Iris’ marriage to Daniel begins to fall apart at the seams. Ruthie, Iris and Daniel’s daughter, becomes unmoored and seeks solace in the arms of Matt, John’s brother.

It sounds melodramatic, but it’s not. This novel works … although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. Partly, Waldman crafts what boils down to a simply good story. The plot is tragic and hopeful at once. The coast of Maine comes to life — not in an overly-descriptive or cheesy way. Rather, Waldman’s prose is transporting — another delightful example of the importance of the role of place in literature. (I’ve really been on a soapbox with that recently, haven’t I?) The characters are well-rounded and real.

The prose is lovely. And perhaps this is what makes the most significant difference in making Red Hook Road real literature rather than something simpler and more stereotypical. There is a strong motif of music throughout the novel, reinforced by the Prelude and Coda which open and close the novel. Further, Waldman subtly explores the relationship and juxtaposition of music and literature in terms of their study versus the passions they ignite.

I really enjoyed this novel, so much so that I will probably pursue reading Waldman’s other work in the future. Red Hook Road was a surprise treat!
(less)

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Jul 04, 2010 Cathe Olson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love reading a book when I have no idea what it will be about and I can be completely surprised. Well, that's what happened with this one because the ARC I received had no description on it. Red Hook Road starts off just a little slow with a fancy wedding. A girl from a rich summer family marries a Maine "local" boy and, while the families are not quite thrilled, they are reconciled to it. Waldman really captures the feel of a wedding . . . it is kind of slow as you wait for the bride and groo...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book starts with a tragedy. Between their wedding and the reception, a young couple is killed in a car accident. The rest of the book follows their families over the course of that summer in Maine, and the following three summers.
The young man, John, grew up on the coast of Maine. He went to school to become a boat designer and he and Becca are restoring a boat they intend to use to run Caribbean charters. John's mother Jane makes her living cleaning houses for the summer people. John's you...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars

In Red Hook Road, it's Becca and John's wedding day. What should have been a day full of celebration is cut short by a tragic accident just minutes after the ceremony. Both Becca and John are killed in a car accident. Their families and friends are understandably devastated. As the families return to Red Hook Road for the next few summers, they discover that time doesn't necessarily heal all wounds. As they struggle to go on, they manage to find solace in ways they can't imagine.

I adored this b...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

The beginning of this novel is a little slow to take off and at times the detail put into the writing is a bit redundant. However, that same attention to detail is what also makes this book difficult to put down. Even if you have not experienced the loss of a loved one you can appreciate and understand the emotions and behaviors the characters display. The book is centered around a tragedy, but it's also a great story about people living a life they were forced to accept. I think you can get a l...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 15, 2010 marg rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ayelet Waldman made a calculated decision in writing this that more is more. More metaphors, more details, more figurative language surely means ... better writing?
Not so much. I did not hate this book, at all, as much as I just felt dragged through it. In fact, it not evoking feelings of hatred might even be more of what was wrong with the book - I just didn't care enough to. The characters were types more than people, and annoying ones at that, and every buttoning of every button made for a ra...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Peggy rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very good book about relationships and family. A tragedy in the beginning of the book affects the lives of two families living in Maine. John, a native marries Becca, a summer family daughte, in a large church wedding. John's mother, Jane, runs the cleaning business that cares for Becca's family's house in the winter month. It is a very awkward situation to say the least. After the ceremony all the guests are waiting for the bride and groom to arrive at the Grange Hall for the reception, but...more

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About Ayelet Waldman

Ayelet Waldman is the author of the forthcoming Love and Treasure (Knopf, January 2014), Red Hook Road and The New York Times bestseller Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities and Occasional Moments of Grace. Her novel Love and Other Impossible Pursuits was made into a film starring Natalie Portman. Her personal essays and profiles of such public figures as Hillary Clinton ha...more

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Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace

Nursery Crimes (A Mommy-Track Mystery, #1)

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Quotes from Red Hook Road

“That was true, Iris would sometimes think, about marriage: it was only a boat, too. A wooden boat, difficult to build, even more difficult to maintain, whose beauty derived at least in part from its unlikelihood. Long ago the pragmatic justifications for both marriage and wooden-boat building had been lost or superseded. Why invest countless hours, years, and dollars in planing and carving, gluing and fastening, caulking and fairing, when a fiberglass boat can be had at a fraction of the cost? Why struggle to maintain love and commitment over decades when there were far easier ways to live, ones that required no effort or attention to prevent corrosion and rot? Why continue to pour your heart into these obsolete arts? Because their beauty, the way they connect you to your history and to the living world, justifies your efforts. A long marriage, like a classic wooden boat, could be a thing of grace, but only if great effort was devoted to its maintenance. At first your notions of your life with another were no more substantial than a pattern laid down in plywood. Then year by year you constructed the frame around the form, and began layering memories, griefs, and small triumphs like strips of veneer planking bent around the hull of everyday routine. You sanded down the rough edges, patched the misunderstandings, faired the petty betrayals. Sometimes you sprung a leak. You fell apart in rough weather or were smashed on devouring rocks. But then, as now, in the teeth of a storm, when it seemed like all was lost, the timber swelled, the leak sealed up, and you found that your craft was, after all, sea-kindly.” — 5 people liked it

“As if one's capacity for pain had anything to do with life's apportionment of agonies, Mr. Kimmelbrod thought. Such idiocy.” — 2 people liked it

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