Three Junes
by Julia Glass
I overlooked this book on the book club table at my local book stores for … maybe a year or more?! I would read the blurb on the back cover, carry it around for a while, and then think, “Oh–another book about three women? Sheesh! How many of those can you read?” And then I’d promptly set it down again. So what a surprise when I finally did succumb–only to find out that the “three Junes” were three months of June separated by years, and that two of the main narrators were men.
The story opens with the narrator Paul McLeod. A trip to Greece after the death of his wife prompts him to reminisce on their life together. As he tells his story, it is clear to the reader that we see things he does not–that the beautiful life he paints may have had some scratch outs and paint-overs. Paul’s son Fenno picks up the narration in the second June and we see Paul’s overpainting through the xray of his son’s story. The third June is told through the eyes of Fern, an neighbor of Fenno’s whose own life provides a counterpoint to Fenno’s. When Fern’s husband dies, Fenno is drawn in to her world–and through Fern’s tragedy finds clarity for his own.
A good read overall, I was most captivated with the McLeod family, and found myself distracted by Fern, who almost acted as a deus ex machina. I would rather that Glass had provided another family member’s perspective to round out the novel. Keeping it all in the family would have added to the novel’s cohesiveness.
This is my symphony 