Lydia's Party by Margaret Hawkins

Margaret Hawkins is an internet friend, we have never met, but we do correspond.  I enjoyed her previous novels, especially Year of Cats and Dogs, so I was nervous about her next novel.  I never realized how hard it can be to approach the work of a friend for the purpose of a review.  Well, now I can breathe a sigh of relief.  Lydia’s Party is a wonderful story that – at first – brought to mind Virginia Woolf’s great novel, Mrs. Dalloway.  However, I quickly began to realize that the similarity of plots ended with the planning of the dinner party for a circle of friends.

Lydia’s Party delves into the mind of a woman who annually schedules a dinner party around the Christmas season for her friends – women only, no men; although on occasion, a husband slithers in to crash the festivities.  Recently, attendance has fallen, but Lydia hopes all seven will attend, as she has an announcement to make to her friends.  The weather becomes a factor, but all show up as planned.

Hawkins’ description of the characters as she maneuvers around her house on the day of the party is spectacular.  She reveals much of the history of the group, as well as some thoughts she has about the women and their husbands and lovers.  Interspersed are chapters by the guests as they scurry around gathering what they have volunteered to bring.

Early in the novel, when the guest list is by no means certain, Hawkins writes, “Lydia went back to her mental guest list: Elaine, Celia, Maura, Jayne, and Betsy.  Maybe Norris.  Lydia was the only one still teaching. […] Elaine, that cagey devil, had gotten out fifteen years earlier, saved up to pay off her mortgage and gave her notice the day she wrote the last check.   She said she couldn’t stand teaching anymore, couldn’t stand the tedium of hearing her own voice repeating itself semester after semester, telling the same jokes and the same stories, acting out the same rehearsed epiphanies, year after year, and Lydia knew what she meant, felt the same way about her own tired performances.  Though Lydia thought that in Elaine’s case it was grading papers that finally did her in.  Four sections of English composition every semester – she’d felt she had to correct every superfluous comma” (21).  These sentiments certainly clang as true as a giant brass bell.

Lydia has a beloved pet, Maxine, a large dog.  The scenes with Maxine had a touching seriousness and humor that nearly brought tears to my eyes.  Maxine is “aging gracefully.” and so is our beloved Marcy.  While cooking, Maxine joins Lydia in the kitchen.  “Lydia began to form the dough into little oblongs and set them on a plate.  She felt a hot breath on her leg and looked down.  Maxine was sitting next to her, still as a statue, her intelligent eyes following the movement of Lydia’s hands from the bowl to the plate, watching the dough in its progress away from her.  She had already forgotten the gift of cheese and now she wanted dough.  She was patient, strategic.  She knew the formed dumplings on the plate were not for her but she also knew that Lydia was genetically predestined to be a patsy and that her best chance lay in what was left in the bowl, an amount that was steadily decreasing.  //  Lydia knew that Maxine knew this because Lydia could read her mind, her eyes, her body, the anxious tilt of her shoulders, her tense ears as she calculated what she might get of what was left” (55).  Every dog lover knows this scene – or they should – and the warm fuzzies it brings to the surface.

Margaret Hawkins’ Lydia’s Party might be considered “chick lit,” but the humanity, the emotions, the love, the tenderness, the friendship, and loyalty are way too evident and universal to confine this wonderful novel to any single niche.  Never maudlin, always thoughtful, Lydia is a character anyone can love.  And, while I hated the story to end, I wasn’t sad, because I felt as if I had made a new friend in Lydia.  A friend who will stay with me for a long, long time.  5 stars.

--Chiron, 2/21/15

How to Survive a Natural Disaster by Margaret Hawkins

I love “discovering” new writers, and first novels thrill me. I felt that when I read Hawkins’ The Year of Cats and Dogs. Better yet, every member of my book club loved it, too. However, when I come across a second novel by a writer like Hawkins, a sense of apprehension comes over me. I approached reading How to Survive a Natural Disaster with that sense of foreboding. Oh, me of little faith! Hawkins has equaled her success with this second effort.

The novel has an ensemble cast of quirky and wonderfully interesting characters. Roxanne, a divorced, single mother of the brilliant April, Roxanne’s mother Jacklyn, Roxanne’s second husband Craig and their adopted daughter May, and last, but certainly not least, Phoebe, a neighbor who edits textbooks at home and who has some mild psychological problems. Then, the animals, all with quirks and secrets of their own – Mr. Cosmo, the three-legged weimaraner who seems a bit psychic and Bill, Phoebe’s faithful companion.

Each chapter belongs to a different character, and the star of this series is undoubtedly Roxanne. She has the longest chapter (about 25 pages) a quarter of the way into the story, and when I finished it, I immediately turned back and re-read it. This chapter could almost stand on its own as a short story. The psychological self-examination by Roxanne -- and all these characters – is exactly the kind of novel I love reading. I also thoroughly enjoyed the (sometimes) minor differences in interpretation of events and perceptions regarding the other characters. All the people that inhabit this first-rate story have a solid, realistic quality about them – some are better humans than others – but they all ring true as clear as a digital recording.

The “natural disaster” occurs about three-quarters of the way through the novel. With 50 some pages left, I felt the ending might be a bit too long. But as I made my way through the final chapters, I began to see the importance of those pages describing how the event affected all of them. I began thinking about tragedies – specifically Shakespearean tragedies – and the way he gave the final lines to the most important character, which hints at the future. In this context, most of the ending words and thoughts fall to one person – Phoebe. This epiphany made all the difference, and the ending became powerful for me.

Don’t be tempted to look ahead as you read, because two of the chapters consist of only one line each, and if you read those, it might spoil the ending. Scheduled for publication in early October, move Hawkins to the top of your reading and collection lists. 5 stars

--Chiron, 7/21/10

A Year of Cats and Dogs by Margaret Hawkins

This rather interesting novel delves into the life of Maryanne, who has recently found herself abandoned by her “ex,” Phillip, and now lives alone with a dog, Bob, and a cat Clement. Maryanne is, to say the very least, an interesting character. She is strong, confident, reflective, and able to take care of herself -- after a fashion. While she is not the best housekeeper in the world, she does manage reasonably well.

Hawkins’s prose flows nicely in and around the vicissitudes of Maryanne’s life. The relationship has died, and she faces “death” in a variety of forms, handling each with a calm grace and an attitude that recognizes the inevitability of loss.

Numerous events in Maryanne’s life also involve food, and she supplies recipes for many of life’s turning points. All the recipes seem to include bacon, well-done, and crumbled into the recipe. The I-Ching also figures in the plot, as the 64 chapters each reflects a sentiment expressed by one of the 64 I-Ching tiles. As the author’s note tells us, the I-Ching has been around for several thousand years and advocates reflection and passive acceptance. Maryanne’s calm demeanor follows this spiritual guide.

Of course, her relationship with pets will appeal to anyone who has ever had the good fortune to accept an invitation to reside with a cat and dog. Maryanne has a special relationship with her “family” members, as the title suggests. Don’t miss out on this wonderful experience.

Permanent Press will publish this novel in October, 2009. Five Stars

--Chiron, 8/30/09