A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
Oak Knoll, the quaint North Carolina community in A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler (St. Martin’s Press), is slowly turning over and older homes are being built into mansions. Wealthy, charming and successful Brad Whitman, his wife Julia and their daughters, Lily and Juniper move in next-door to single parent and ecologist Valerie, and her smart, biracial teen son, Xavier. The Whitmans’ new home has been under construction and is now modern with all the amenities. They chopped down many trees to add a swimming pool, and it is the most prestigious, custom home on the street.
Valerie, a professor of forestry and ecology, lives in an older home and has been observing and enduring the construction for months. She is disturbed by the disruption of nature and appreciates the original beauty of her woods. With differing opinions over a mature oak tree near Valerie’s property line, and disagreement over the budding Romeo and Juliet style relationship of their teenage children, the neighborhood becomes less “good” and more problematic and tense.
When the sordid pasts of these complex characters are revealed, we begin to understand the reasons for their differing agendas and prejudices. Each character has secrets about themselves they are hiding, and you get the feeling tragedy is imminent. The web of issues and depth of characters are captivating and shed light on social and racial divisions. Narration by the collective “we” provides an interesting point of view that allows us to see the story unfold in its entirety.
“… as much as we envied the ability to live as well as the Whitmans did even while disapproving of the size of the house and the process by which it had come to stand here towering over its near neighbors, we wondered how they treated one another when no one was watching. We were curious to know whether their family life was as enviable as their home.”
From privilege exemplified by fancy homes, private school and expensive cars, to strict Christian values, legal disputes, young love and racism, Fowler covers it all with a slow-burning story told by the people. A Good Neighborhood is a gripping tragedy about power, race and humanity that ends in heartbreak – and leaves us questioning the truth, what is fair and the law.
