PETE AND ALICE IN MAINE

Marriage is not a thing, it’s a process that takes effort. French author Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) tells us just how tenuous that effort can be: “It is better to be unhappy in love than unhappy in marriage, but some people manage to do both.” And that describes the marriage of Pete and Alice perfectly.

Maine’s Caitlin Shetterly is the award-winning author of nonfiction books, but this is her debut novel, a sad, gritty, visceral indictment of marriage and parenthood that is both satisfying and profoundly painful to read. Shetterly is a very talented writer with a keen eye for character, dialogue, detail and plot, accurately portraying a toxic marriage circling the drain and everybody in the family knows it but does nothing about it.

In early 2020 Alice, Pete and their two young daughters flee New York City to their second home in Maine, to escape the Covid pandemic. He’s a Wall Street financier, she’s a mother and aspiring writer who’s never been published. Alice’s ultimatum to Peter leads to conflict and
an unwelcome arrival in Maine where folks are suspicious and unhelpful.

Quarantine and months of isolation produce despair, fear, arguments, indecision and more ultimatums resulting in deep fractures in the couple’s relationship. Their daughters witness the fights and tension and are adversely affected. Alice feels she has lost her
personal identity: “I woke up one day in a life I didn’t recognize.” Then she learns Pete has a lover back in the city.

When confronted with his infidelity, Pete says it’s over and he can change, but Alice knows she can never trust or forgive him. She issues a final ultimatum and then makes a frightening discovery. This is a well-written but tough read proving de Maupassant was right.

TRIBUTARIES: ESSAYS FROM WOODS AND WATERS

Not since Fly Rod Crosby (1854-1946) has anyone written so eloquently about fishing than Ryan Brod in his debut book “Tributaries.”

Born and raised in Maine, Brod is a registered Maine fishing guide, teaches writing at the University of New England, and is the documentary filmmaker of “Hardwater,” a 2012 movie about the tradition of ice-fishing. This book is a collection of 22 essays, stories about fishing, hunting, his father, fishing friends, other guides and New York City guide clients.

Brod’s passion of fishing seems all-consuming, as he writes about learning to fish from his father, trips to the Allagash to fish for muskie, trips to the Florida Keys to fish for tarpon, and his rapt enjoyment of ice-fishing in Maine. His stories are vividly colorful and
full of angling wisdom, along with unexplained fishing jargon only a fisherman will understand: shock tippet, streamers and poppers, fluorocarbon leader.

The stories of fishing with his father are tender and loving, their easy companionship is a delight to read. Brod’s story “Lost Voices” pays heartfelt tribute to an old friend, “one of the greatest fishermen I’ve ever seen.” His story “A Day on the Ice” is hilarious, as he tells of the antics of seven young men from New York City on their first ice-fishing experience on Messalonskee Lake.

Brod also includes excellent stories of hunting moose, deer and turkey, but the fishing tales take center stage. In one he lists all the things he loves about ice-fishing, including “I love cold, still nights,” and “I love footwarmers that last till 4 p.m.” Also, learn about the wily snook, fishing etiquette, and why you don’t ever want to catch the dreaded “Duck Itch.”

Clearly, Brod agrees with the unknown pundit: “A bad day fishing is better than a good day working.”

Bill Bushnell lives and writes in Harpswell.

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