The Outer Cape

April 3, 2017
The first novel by the author of the short story collection We’ve Already Gone This Far turns the usual Cape Cod narrative on its head, locating itself not in a dreamy vacationland but in the daily struggles of a family vanquished by the attempt to move up the social ladder. Father Robert attempts to take over his dad’s real estate business, but finds himself tempted to engage in one scam after another, finally ending up in prison. Mother Irene, at first an aspiring artist, devotes herself to shopping and becomes bulimic. Pudgy older son Nathan toughens up, joins the military, and returns damaged from Iraq and Afghanistan, while sensitive younger son Andrew, still trying fruitlessly to please his father, loses himself in a passionless marriage and a career in finance. The novel follows the family from Robert and Irene’s meeting in 1977 through the savings and loan crisis of the ’90s up to the present day, when the family reunites on the Cape to deal with an illness Irene is facing. Though John Updike and Richard Yates are obvious influences, Dacey has a gritty voice of his own. Although when the characters are separated, the novel sometimes descends into unrelated vignettes, the author has a strong grip on the dynamics that follow through a family from generation to generation, particularly from father to son.

June 1, 2017

In 1988, Robert and Irene Kelly move to Cape Cod, MA, in search of a stable suburban life for their two young boys, Andrew and Nathan. Irene's identity as an artist becomes buried beneath her roles as wife and mother, and Robert's career at his father's home-building company founders as the recession takes hold in the early 1990s. In desperation, Robert starts down a road that will tear his family apart and have lasting effects for the next several decades. Dacey's debut novel (after the short story collection We've Already Gone This Far) examines the American dream in the late 20th century. Robert's journey through successes and failures is a familiar one these days. As his sons navigate adulthood--Andrew in corporate settings, Nathan serving in Afghanistan--they must learn to reconcile a disingenuous vision of the past with the reality of who their parents truly are. VERDICT This is a strong first novel with satisfying characters and a fresh take on familiar themes. Group with Rick Moody's The Ice Storm and Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road for a suburban-angst triad.--Jennifer B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Northeast

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2017
Robert and Irene Kelly have made a home for themselves and their two small children in the fictional town of Wequaquet, Massachusetts. Irene is a dedicated wife and mother who put her painting ambitions aside to devote herself to taking care of the family. Robert wants to be a successful businessman and dreams of making it big in the real-estate world. Young Andrew and Nathan navigate a childhood surrounded by the idyllic landscape of Cape Cod and by parents who often wish to be someone or someplace else. Twenty years later, Robert has just been released from prison, Nathan is trying to adjust to life outside the army, and Andrew is dealing with the fallout from an unhappy marriage. When Irene becomes seriously ill, the Kelly men are pulled back to the Cape to face their past and reconcile their present. Dacey (We've Already Gone This Far, 2016) returns to the setting of his wonderful debut collection to take a brutally honest look at one family's struggle to survive while hanging on to their dreams. Beautifully written, with strong, deeply memorable characters, this isa powerful story of possibility and promise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)