Goldengrove: A Novel
by Francine Prose
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Book Summary Information
Author: Francine ProseEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-09-01
ISBN: 0060560029
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of Goldengrove: A Novel
Book Review: Young Adult Literature
Summary: 4 Stars
The novel opens up the Hokins' poem "Spring and Fall: To a Young Child" and it is a little cliche that one of the novel's main character's (even though she dies in the first chapter) has the same name as the poem's subject. The poem, however, is an essential aspect to the novel because it foreshadows the loss of innocence, a longing for chilhood, and the idea that the season's will continue to change just as life will keep going. The downside to this poem is that the young adolescent reader might not gain anything from the poem as an introduction other than the "Margaret" and "Goldengrove" that are found in the novel. There is much to do with this poem as prologue and it should be treated as such.
Prose's ability to carrying over Margaret's spirit to all the characters for the duration of the novel is very developed. Margaret dies in the first chapter yet she is the motivation and reason for all the characters' actions, feelings, expressions and she also drives the plot. This is a technique that can not really be ignored and would be a good writing style to discuss and copy as a classroom lesson. However, the theme of struggling with a personal loss as Margaret's family must do is not common and it is for this reason that this novel would not be a good group-classroom read; it may be a good recommendation or personal read but it would not serve well for an entire class. The story also plateau's and becomes almost boring at certain points; the reader is waiting for something to pick up between Nico's return from the cardiologist and the post-Fourth of July events. This weighs down the value or Prose's Goldengrove.
The heaviness of the family's loss is too personal to be felt on a wide-scale but the ideas of young love, drug abuse, and adolescents lying to parents are themes that can connect the young reader to Prose's story. Margaret and Aaron's one chapter of love may relate to youger readers and they will find interest; yet once the love becomes an awkward, uncomfortable connection between Nico and Aaron, the reader will find themselves arguing what is okay/acceptable, and what is going wrong in their relationship. This same idea carries over to Daisy's drug abuse. Neither Nico nor her father say anything to Daisy for fear of upsetting her more and worsening her addiction so it is a relief that she comes to her own self-realization and decides she must quit. Nico's incessant lies to her parents about her whereabouts, specifically with Aaron, is another aspect that will relate to the young reader. The reader feels tension when they know Nico is about to lie or is disloyal and it is parts like these that will make the reader active. They will evaluate her actions and debate what they may do the same or what they may do differently and it is in this inner discussion that can shape them as people and as readers.
The end comes rather abrutly and although the "happily ever after" ending provides a pleasant resolution, it seems shallow. The only thing to learn from this is that perhaps the reader should be picking up the significant themes as they read along (for example what is Prose trying to say when Nico begins to depend on Margaret's clothes and perfume or when Nico decides she no longer wants to hang out with Aaron)rather than waiting for the end. The novel also has a very feminine sort of view, not feminine as in feministic but as in girly; perhaps it's because the book is about a relationship between two sisters and the majority of the story is told from the perspective of a thirteen-year old girl. This may be risky and a disadvantage to young male readers.
Goldengrove is an enjoyable read but not something that should be used to introduce evolving readers to the field of young adult literature.
Summary of Goldengrove: A Novel
After the sudden death of her beloved older sister, thirteen-year-old Nico finds her life on New England's idyllic Mirror Lake irrevocably altered. Left alone to grope toward understanding, she falls into a seductive, dangerous relationship with her sister's boyfriend. Over one haunted summer, Nico faces that life-changing moment when children realize their parents can no longer help them as she experiences the mystery of loss and recovery. Still, for all the darkness at its heart, Goldengrove is radiant with the lightness of summer and charged by the restless sexual tension of adolescence.
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Author and essayist Francine Prose's novel Goldengrove will be a surprise to readers familiar with her famously razor-sharp dialogue and tough-love attitude towards her memorable characters. In this affecting coming-of-age novel, Prose introduces us to Nico, a chubby thirteen-year old girl who imagines nothing more than keeping her parents at arms length and hanging out with her older sister, Margaret and her charismatic boyfriend during the long summer break. Instead, Nico finds herself navigating the perilous course of mourning after her beloved sister drowns in the lake just beyond the family's home. With little support from her grief-stricken parents, she must come to terms with the tragedy largely on her own. Prose's ability to situate the adult reader within the heart and mind of young Nico is quite remarkable, and verges on the poetic. Goldengrove is a poignant story that prompts us to retrace those often long-forgotten, but monumental early steps towards acceptance and understanding. --Lauren Nemroff
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