Ten North Frederick

TEN NORTH FREDERICK
by John O'Hara

 Award: National Book Award 1956

 Date Read: February 10, 2020

 I had looked forward to this book on my list for quite some time because I love O'Hara's work. I'll be honest that this one took me a while to slog through. I found vast amounts of it boring, particularly the political machinations of a small town striver. In the end, though, I fell in love with Joe Chapin and the entire Chapin family.

 We know at the beginning that Joe has passed and the respect and reverence that Gibbsville society shows at his funeral reveals Joe was no trivial man and was highly regarded by nearly everyone in this community. Although Joe never made it as a politician, he made several allies, and a few enemies, along the way in his ambitions.

 His wife, Edith, and children, Joe Jr. and Ann, help to portray the humanity of Joe as a husband and father. His ultimate sacrifice becomes honoring these roles above his own changing happiness when he meets Kate Drummond. This is where the novel changed for me, so near the end. Joe honors his wife and children by denying this love he finds for Kate and he ultimately drinks himself to death to squelch the heartbreak. 

 As I struggle in my life right now to find my own truth and to find a better way to live, I couldn't help but have empathy for Joe. I have no doubt his excessive drinking was consciously undertaken and his demise a welcome respite from anguish. But the better part of me wants to jump through those pages and say, "If you're going to live so damned many years, at least make them count. Burn this shit down and go get Kate if it'll make you happy." That would have been an interesting plot twist. Untenable but interesting.

 Looking Back: From The Terrace

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