Baker Towers
by Jennifer Haigh
HarperCollins $105
Jennifer Haigh follows her Pen/Hemingway award-winning debut novel, Mrs Kimble, with a tender tale that mines the lives of an immigrant family living in the decaying Pennsylvanian town of Bakerton. In clear, unembroidered prose, she uses the lives of the Novak family to illustrate the small-town mores and ties that hold the community together, even as Bakerton wears away 'like a bar of soap'. At the start of the book, Polish miner Stanley Novak keels over from a heart attack, leaving behind his Italian wife, Rose, and their five children. With the second world war and later post-war America shaping their lives, the siblings go their separate ways, although Bakerton maintains a hold. To avoid following in their father's footsteps down the mines, George marries into society, while his younger brother, Sandy, becomes a drifter, surviving on his charm. Joyce, the smart one, is the family anchor. The book should appeal to readers who like multigenerational sagas that tug at the emotions - although this might equally be a turn-off. The well-researched period detail, however, is a definite plus.