Sometimes book reviews are easy to write and at other times, they require more thought before the placing down of your opinion onto, for the description’s sake, paper. And I find myself in the position of the latter with regard to Montpelier Tomorrow.
The novel concerns itself with a very emotive subject – ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease – and does this from the point of view of Colleen, a middle-aged schoolteacher from Chicago, whose son-in-law is diagnosed with the disease; it is through her eyes that we see how her family deal with the ramifications that follow after being told one of your dearest family members has only so long to live, that it will be a rapid decline and that that person will lose their ability to function and will be dependent on you for virtually everything.
Colleen is no stranger to tragedy: she lost her husband at a young age and has brought up Sandy, Kevin and Sean single-handedly. Her narrative is very candid and you get a sense of her as being a brusque, no-nonsense sort who will plough through what she is presented with as there is no other option. Tension between her and Sandy runs high throughout the book and there is some deep-seated resentment that eventually comes to the surface as Colleen is compelled to move in and help with Tony, her son-in-law’s care as well as with their two young boys.
MacDonald presents the disease for what it is: there are moments in the book which are stark, whether through the lack of dignity that is caused by the intimacy needed to care for someone else or with the options for prolonging life also presenting the dilemma of prolonging living with the disease for everyone else around them. It is quite clearly exhausting and in this book, there is tragedy everywhere, fissures widening and people having to step up whilst others flounder.
Strangely, I was aware of this throughout but remained unmoved by it all. I have tried to analyse why and I am still unclear because MacDonald’s writing is thorough and
well-written; it flows and has a very definite direction; is insightful and honest. I think it comes down to characters, for me – I struggled to identify with them with warmth despite their desperate situation.
My reaction is luke-warm – I would encourage you to read it for yourself.
This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC.
Scuffed Granny 