That Night

THAT NIGHT
by Alice McDermott

 Nominations: LA Times Finalist 1987, National Book Finalist 1987, PEN/Faulkner Finalist 1988, Pulitzer Finalist 1988

 Date Read: August 3, 2019

 That Night  is a coming of age story about the fierceness of first love. Sheryl and Rick are enmeshed in a teenaged love affair and Sheryl winds up pregnant. Her mother sends her to relatives to wait out the remainder of her pregnancy, never allowing her to say good bye to Rick or even tell him that she's pregnant. These actions lead to an incident that changes the neighborhood forever.

 Rick, not knowing Sheryl has already left, recruits his friends to raid her house and demand to see her. The mother is forcefully removed and thrown onto the lawn and all the neighborhood fathers grab whatever's at hand to use as a weapon to defend her. It is this event, this dramatic display of love, that everyone in the neighborhood for years to come.

 The brawl that ensues bonds the male neighbors to each other, where previously they seldom spoke, as the fathers compare stories and wounds. The neighborhood kids that witness this event are so young that this romance and public declaration of love achieves mythic proportions in their minds. Of course, as is most common among young love, the love affair between Rick and Sheryl dissolves with their separation.

 McDermott's descriptions of suburban life brought back vivid memories of my own childhood, as I grew up in the suburbs in the 80s. Although this novel covers a singular event, the rich detail and context McDermott provides breathes vivid life into this event and the neighborhood, like a single organism with a beating heart.

 Looking Forward: After This, At Weddings & Wakes, Charming Billy, The Ninth Hour, Someone

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