Vinegar Hill

A. Manette Ansay’s Vinegar Hill is a gripping novel. It is a tale of sorrow, pain, anger, revenge, duty, courage and ultimately, love. It is at times disgusting and heart breaking, but it is also triumphant.

The story takes place in 1972. Ellen and James have two children and a normal life, until James loses his job. Ellen is a teacher, but her salary is not enough to support the family so they move back to the small town where James and Ellen both grew up, and in with James’ parents. James’ parents are very set in their ways, extremely religious, not used to having children around and not loving. In fact, they can be down right mean. His mother is frail and unable to do even the simplest task around the house once Ellen moves in. So now, in addition to being the only one who works, she also has to do all of the cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. James suffers from depression and even after he finds a job is not sure how to fit in with the family dynamic.

Living under these circumstances would be difficult for any couple. For James and Ellen, whose marriage was not on firm foundation before, it is destructive. Everyone pays the price of the living situation, but most of all the two children. Their oldest, a girl named Amy, begins to resent and blame her mother. The youngest, a boy named Herbert, is terrified all of the time. James’ parents are huge hypocrites, both in their religious beliefs and their everyday behavior, and judging James and Ellen on their child rearing; his father is violent. The situation is a recipe for disaster. Ellen knows it and somehow has to keep her family together, or decide to move on. But the pressures are getting to her, too, her mental stability falters and she turns to pharmaceuticals to get through the day.

This novel was depressing at times, but I believe that in the end there is triumph. It is written in chapters that show different characters perspectives, and is sort of a stream of consciousness. For each adult character, there is a time when the reader feels sympathetic to their situation. Then in the next paragraph or chapter that sympathy is ripped away. The text jumps from the present situation to a past situation and back again so quickly that I was left re-reading to make sure I understood what was happening. I am glad that I read this book, but would caution the reader that this is not really a “feel good” read. I think it would be excellent for a book club choice, because there are many character choices that could be the basis for intense discussion.

Happy Reading!