The Courts Of Memory

THE COURTS OF MEMORY
by Frank Rooney

 Nomination: National Book Finalist 1955

 Date Read: March 25, 2020

 The Courts Of Memory takes us back to a time I never lived in and visit the Griffith family, completely dysfunctional, completely relatable, even in the present. Focusing mainly on two of the three siblings, Dick and Brace, from their teenage years through their middle age.

 The relationship between these two is strange from the get-go. I found their intimacy crossing the boundaries of brother/sister appropriateness (e.g. changing in front of each other, kissing on the lips, having each other's backs more than they do their spouse's, etc.). Brace is a deeply feeling, deeply thinking and muddled character, who, I believe, is never quite certain exactly what she wants. She is continually searching but doesn't know what she's searching for.

 There were traces throughout that their father was slightly shady, slightly abusive but I didn't buy it. Beyond having a harsh word for his kids, particularly as his mind aged, was so harmless, I almost felt sorry for him. Dick learns to manage his father with age and tolerate his lashing out as nothing more than what it really is, a man who lives in fear.

 Brace, meanwhile, falls apart after her second husband leaves her, which unfairly portrayed her as weak. I thought she was anything but. She was strong but just couldn't seem to grasp at the straw of what makes life meaningful and the manner that societal expectations  narrowed her choices didn't leave her much chance. I could see the ending coming a mile away.

 Perhaps the most difficult part of this novel is there wasn't much love in this family. One could argue that Dick and Brace loved each other deeply but so terribly flawed that it didn't do either of them much good. 

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