The Girl in the Garden

Set in the mid-1970s at an unnamed beach enclave, Wallace’s (The Housekeeper) powerful novel centers on June, a young girl who is abandoned at a coastal motel with her infant child, Luke, and taken in by the motel’s aging owner, Mabel. Following a cast of characters who are all emotionally hindered by the traumas of the past, the narrative switches perspectives chapter by chapter. Mabel, who is trying to move on after the death of her husband, is ready to close up the motel for the off-season when June’s plight changes her plans. Iris, Mabel’s reclusive friend with dark secrets in her past, repays Mabel for a long-ago favor by sheltering June after the motel closes for the off-season. Duncan, Iris’s lawyer, helps June settle in while also trying to maintain the tenuous relationship between Iris and her estranged daughter, Claire. Sam, a disfigured Vietnam vet who has abandoned his prewar life, takes up Claire’s offer to drive her from New York back to her childhood home. Though it is a dim journey for most of the characters, the book focuses on the resiliency of the human spirit. Wallace makes use of long, unconfined sentences to build the many distinctive voices and has a knack for teasing out important details. This is a quiet, contemplative novel that builds slowly and leaves a lasting impact. Agent: Claudia Cross, Folio Literary Management. (Jan.)