Monday, May 13, 2019

White elephant, by Julie Langsdorf


Willard Park is one of those perfect communities.  Small enough for neighbors to know each other; steeped in community traditions for holidays; and full of quaint too-small “Sears” houses from the turn of the last century.  After Nick Cox, a builder who isn’t doing well in nearby Washington DC, moves to Willard Park with his wife Kaye, craftsman homes are soon being torn down to put up McMansions that tower over their surroundings.  When Nick, while clearing the lot for the latest of these, cuts down the young red maple that the next door neighbor, Ted, planted when his daughter was born, the war is on.  But Ted's wife, Allison, finds Nick strangely attractive and their daughter makes friends with Nick and Kaye's troubled child.  An amusing take on the tensions below a seemingly serene village.  313 pp.

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