"Leaving Bayberry House"

"Leaving Bayberry House" (John Daniel, 2010) is a new novel by Ann L. McLaughlin, whose 2002 novel, "The House on Q Street," I wrote about on 2/5/11. This novel, like the earlier one, portrays the difficulties and psychological residue of World War II on families in the United States. In 1973, two sisters, Angie and Liz, are taking a week out of their lives to revisit and prepare their extended family's summer house in order to sell it. The book alternates between that week in 1973 and flashbacks to the wrenching events that happened to the family during the wartime years. There is a certain amount of suspense as we readers try to figure out what the main tragic event (although there are several family tragedies) for the family was, the one that has scarred Angie and Liz ever since. There is also discussion of current family problems that the sisters are struggling with regarding their own husbands and children. Matters come to a head at the end of the week when other family members unexpectedly visit and when the sisters are finally able to speak openly to each other about their memories of the family rifts and the sad events that changed their lives forever. The two sisters, and their ambivalent but ultimately loving relationship, are movingly portrayed. The other characters in the story -- including the parents of the two sisters -- tend to be less well developed. The most interesting aspect of this novel is the depiction of the long lasting psychological effects of the past on the present.