A review of the novel Evensong, by Stewart O'Nan.
It's difficult, and dangerous, to grow old alone.
Stewart O'Nan knows this, as do the ladies of Pittsburgh's Humpty Dumpty Club in his novel Evensong. Their group's mission is to help their fellow aging seniors to negotiate life as they face the everyday challenges of increasing frailty, decreasing mobility, failing strength, and/or declining cognition, within an ever smaller circle of acquaintance.
The five HDs (as they call themselves) provide rides, pick up prescriptions, do welfare checks, help folks downsize and move, and arrange all manner of services when others need help of whatever kind to remain as independent as they can. Each woman has her own challenges, her own living situation, and a distinct personality, but they are bound together by their mission and need to be useful, as well as their long-time membership in their Episcopal church.
It's an episodic book with mostly short chapters that explore the lives and concerns of each woman. The overarching narrative, which is more of a frame for the novel than a real driving force, begins when their leader and master administrator, Joan, has a nasty fall that incapacitates her, and the other four need to soldier on without her, not knowing when or if she will be able to take the reins again. This has the greatest consequence for Kitzi, whom Joan has tapped for the leadership role, and she struggles to find a balance between leadership and delegation. The others struggle with more personal issues—Arlene with signs of her own cognitive impairment, Emily with trusting her alcoholic daughter, and Susie with low self-esteem and dating after her divorce.
Personally, I've always been attracted to older characters, probably because their experience is long and more complicated by memory. O'Nan gives us four marvelous character studies in Evensong. I was impressed with his ability to bring the HD women to life by exploring the reality of aging with clear-eyed curiosity and empathy. These women are to be admired and not pitied, even when bad things happen or they feel they are failures.
Readers who know Pittsburgh well have many pleasures in store—the sense of place and time is delightful. Readers who look for a plot with lots of forward momentum are likely to get frustrated with the slow progress of the narrative through-line. What kept me reading was my affection for the characters, the realism of their individual challenges and dilemmas, and their dedication to one another and to creating a community through service.
With thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for providing access to an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.