Sylvan Street
By Deborah Schupack
A PLUME BOOK, 352 PAGES
$15.00
Reviewed by Rita Marks
The title of Deborah Schupack’s second novel honors fond memories of her early childhood on Sylvan Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. “I always loved the name,” she says, and admits that although her recollections may be romantically biased, “sylvan” is the perfect adjective to describe an idyllic fictional setting that holds a shady secret.
In the stunning prologue, Schupack pulls off the triple crown of excellence, as novel openings go. The opening line, “June nights came pleasantly on Sylvan Street, fully round the bend of day,” establishes the setting and sets the tone with seductive prose, and as neighbors gaze skyward at a lunar eclipse, she previews the collective point-of-view of a neighborhood. “A couple of children waved flashlights while adults chatted, or didn’t. Light beams sharpened then dimmed as they touched surfaces then set out into the great night sky. . . . There was a tensile, near-perfect feeling of community. For the time it would take a planetary shadow to pass, everyone would witness the exact same thing, and with no earthly consequences.”
Consequences do come, however, when the neighbors attend a pool party where they discover a suitcase of cash. Rightfully so, they suspect the money is tainted. After much debate and soul-searching, they decide to keep it instead of notifying the authorities. They form a pact not to draw unwanted attention with conspicuous lifestyle changes. But, can they keep it? The question not only drives the plot, but also deepens the complexity of each character.
The neighbors of Ashley-on-the-Hudson, north of New York City, are a diverse group. Sally and Janic, a retired couple living on “plummeting” teachers’ pensions, have grown children for whom they’d like to do more. Ash, an artist, initially resents receiving the smallest slice of the windfall pie because he is single. Keith, a town police officer, and his stay-at-home wife Jen have five children and not enough money to meet their family’s growing needs. Billy and Maggie live comfortably on a trust fund, but it fails to compensate for their failed attempts to conceive a child. As a couple, Daniel and Shoshanna are enigmatic. She is an eco-obsessed mother of a young son with a developmental disorder apparently caused by inhaling the post-9-11 air in Brooklyn where they lived at the time. Daniel survived 9-11 by walking out of the tower hand-in-hand with a woman with whom he began an affair. He has another secret as well: he doesn’t report to work every day as his wife assumes. Instead, he goes off to out-of-the-way locales to work on a first novel, told in a distant point-of-view that reflects his post-trauma detachment.
Layered into the mix is the intersecting story of the sensitively portrayed immigrant Nishal who, months earlier, had stumbled upon Sylvan Street as a hiding place for his ill-gotten gains. In lesser-skilled hands, so many points-of-view could be confusing to the reader, but Schupack handles it skillfully, infusing each character with distinctive dimension and depth.
Although on the surface “Sylvan Street” might appear to be a story about money, it is much more. The sudden acquisition of wealth becomes the vehicle by which Schupack weaves an intricate plot and challenges memorable characters, by caging them in an arena where morals do battle with desires.
A Longmeadow High School graduate, Deborah Schupack now lives in the Hudson Valley. She will read from “Sylvan Street” at Storrs Library in Longmeadow, Massachusetts on October 4th at 6:30 pm. Reservations are recommended: call 413-656-4181.
Rita Marks is a freelance writer. She can be reached at ritawmarks@gmail.com
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