Spoonwood

September 15, 2005
Picking up where " Live Free or Die" (1990)" "left off, the sixth installment in Hebert's Darby cycle returns to the ordinary lives of the residents of a small New Hampshire town. Trash collector Freddie Elman's love affair with upper-class Lilith Salmon ends when she dies giving birth to their son, Birch. Freddie's doubts about Lilith's fidelity cause him to reject Birch and turn to drink. Eventually, though, Freddie and Birch form a bond, living on the road while Freddie supports them carving spoons he sells to a New York boutique. As in the earlier Darby novels, Hebert uses his characters, particularly Birch in this installment, to explore classic New England themes: the landscape and its relation to individual lives, familial and social grudges, the eternal tension between traditional values and contemporary encroachments. Pair the Darby novels with the New England fiction of Richard Russo; both authors bring the same warmth and wry humor to their stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)