In An Expectation of Home, Larry Lynch takes
extreme care to tell a straightforward story in a very round about way. Almost a dozen characters are introduced in the first
chapter over the course of six mini-chapters or sections.
On page one we meet the central character, an 11-year-old boy named Bern.
By the first page of the second chapter, Bern has become a full-grown man. These opening chapters are anchors for a complex
timeline that shifts from past to present as the story unfolds.
It sounds complicated, but it isn't. Part of this novel's beauty stems
from the fact that it is so uncomplicated and easy to read. Readers slip from past to present, present to past, following
not only Bern's life but the lives of his family and friends without getting lost. It's a rare discovery to find a debut novel
so well structured and written.
This is a story that can be digested and enjoyed in a single sitting,
or peeled layer upon layer in many readings. So many different ideas and thoughts are buried within, this novel promises to
reveal something new with each subsequent reading.
An Expectation of Home is a family drama, a
community saga, set on the banks of our very own Miramichi River. Lynch's Miramichi appears more compact than the real thing.
Communities on the outskirts, like Renous and Quarryville, seem closer to the city limits than one might expect. But readers
will recognize this landscape and identify with these characters.
Lynch challenges all that is stereotypical, from traditional gender roles
to society's expectations of what constitutes a home. Following Bern from boyhood to manhood and through fatherhood, An
Expectation of Home is a journey of awakening, a nostalgic memory, a fading scar, a family album and a community
portrait.
From powdered milk in jars that smell like pickles with their lids tightened
over a layer of waxed paper to the intense awkward feelings of first love, a melody runs through this prose that is distinctly
Miramichi.
An Expectation of Home may be
Larry Lynch's first published novel but it certainly won't be his last.
