A page-turner from the very first sentence – “Everyone from Shaker Heights was talking about it that Summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.” There’s our first fire – and by the description, sounds like a roaring blaze – nothing little about it. But as the story progresses, the author cleverly weaves in the many individual narratives – each a little fire in its own making – that finally culminates in the spectacular pyrotechnic extravaganza at the beginning of the book – thus taking us, the readers, round a full circle of cause and effect.
Izzy (as Isabelle is called), her three siblings – Moody, Trip and Lexie, their parents the Richardsons, are the pivotal characters in this story. Living as they do in the affluent Shaker Heights, they are a “normal” family – journalist mom, lawyer dad, beautiful Lexie (who, to her credit, is dating a black fellow-student), Trip – a jock and Casanova, and the sensitive Moody – who does not have much in common with either of them but is instead, the only one in his family who thinks that everyone else is too hard on Izzy and always stands up for her.
Shaker Heights is a community which reminds me so much of the one where I myself live. All the gardens are beautifully landscaped, no trash cans within visible view of the curb, no vegetables growing in front yards – only flowers, no tacky garden figurines (and who gets to decide what is tacky anyway), top-notch schools for the kids – a façade that is supposed to spell quiet elegance, uniform serenity and nary a whisper even of a scandal.
And into this quiet, tranquil and placid serenity – a stone is thrown. Seemingly small, the ripples that the stone causes widen and spread until they hit the edges and the boundaries and forever banish the outward calm. Mia and Pearl – artist mother and bright teenage daughter – rent one of the Richardson’s properties. They lead a nomadic existence, never staying in any one place for too long – starkly contrary to the deep-rooted Shaker Heights community, where not only the children all go to the same set of elementary, middle and high schools – but most of the adults have been schoolmates as well.
In keeping with the artist within, Mia is a free-spirit – a non-conformist. Theirs is a minimalist existence – they make do with only as many things as they need (or can fit into their car before their next move) – and they have never been in any one place long enough for Pearl (or Mia for that matter) to make lasting friendships. Yet, the reader can tell that both mother and daughter are content in this little mobile world of their making.
That contentment is shattered for Pearl when she strikes up a friendship – first with Moody – and subsequently with the other 3 Richardson children. It is a meeting of the (material) haves and the have-nots. Pearl is fascinated by the manicured garden, the size of the house – the furniture – TV – the clothes Lexie has. And she also has a crush on Trip, much to Moody’s dismay – who has strong feelings for Pearl himself, but is too tongue-tied and shy to ever voice any of them. This is the first time in 15-year-old Pearl’s life that she has bonded with others her own age and gets a heady glimpse into not just the lives of her privileged friends but also what it must mean to “belong” – to a place, to people you can call friends, a whole family unit (Pearl has never known her dad) and community.
The Richardson children, on the other hand, are equally fascinated with Pearl’s minimalist home and they each relate to Mia in a way they have not been able to with their own mother. Especially Izzy – the runt of the litter – born a preemie – and making up for it by being the strongest member of the household – in terms of always speaking her mind (the poem she picks to read for English class starts with “They fuck you up – your mum and dad…”) and fighting injustice (she breaks her music teacher’s violin bow when the teacher picks on a meek student). This incident is the start of the Mia-Izzy relationship – when Izzy tells her about the teacher, Mia asks her -” well – what are you going to do about it?” And just like that – Izzy whose life “had been one of mute, futile fury” until now, is empowered and emboldened by the “very idea that she *could* do something” and from hereon a brand-new Izzy is born.
This is one story where I could relate with almost every character – because they are all conflicted human beings – torn between doing the right thing – or just following their heart and instincts. Even though Mrs. Richardson is not that likeable, I was with her every step of the way when she makes the journey to delve into Mia’s past – I too wanted to de-mystify the unknown and was dying to know who Pearl’s dad is or whether (as I sometimes doubted) Pearl is really her own daughter. In the adoption situation, I felt equally sorry for both the baby’s mother as well as the couple wanting to adopt (though I was delighted with the how this situation “resolves”). With Lexie’s unfolding drama, my heart went out to her – even though she’s in a tough situation of her own making. And poor Moody – life is so unfair for him. As for Mia – I must confess to not liking her that much in the beginning, but once I knew her story – was amazed at how strong and courageous she has been.
Izzy the trailblazer quite literally – causes the conflagration at the end – appearing to have interpreted Mia’s words verbatim – “Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that too. They start over. They find a way”.
I’m hoping that’s true for everyone – that they all start over. That Pearl connects with her father and grand-parents. That Izzy finds her way to Mia and Pearl. But more than anything else, I imagine them all – Mia, Pearl and Izzy – returning to Shaker Heights – to renewed beginnings – with a better understanding of each other and the ability to live together – in peace and harmony – the unshakeable Shakers.
PS notes: I had no idea that women could self-impregnate with a turkey-baster at home – learned something new; I still laugh out loud thinking of Izzy reading that poem in class and wondering why the teacher “peremptorily” tells her to sit down and gives her a zero.