FINAL BELONGINGS

In this novel, a troubled woman finds a cryptic note and photograph among her deceased mother’s effects and travels to Italy to solve a family mystery.

Juliet Barton’s life is “tanking,” as she bluntly puts it—her husband, Matt, leaves her for another woman; she is laid off from her job; and her mother, Ellen, suddenly dies. Juliet seems to be relying heavily on alcohol and prescription drugs to navigate her emotional distress. While perusing her mother’s possessions, she discovers some things that belonged to her uncle Henry—he was estranged from the family for years and died in a car accident in Italy in 1971. Tucked within an old pack of cigarettes, she finds a photo of what appears to be a mausoleum; on a piece of paper, she finds a name—Giovanni—and an address in Rosanera, Italy. On the back of the photo is an inexplicable note: “If I don’t make it back—third tomb, lower left.” Juliet becomes convinced that the note is a plea from Henry to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death, and she impetuously travels to Rosanera to accomplish precisely this, a mad undertaking made artfully plausible by Beauchemin. The author tells two equally engrossing tales—Juliet’s quest in Italy and Henry’s remarkable life. A talented filmmaker, Henry became best friends with rock star Jim Morrison, suddenly quit film school, and spent more than three years in Vietnam documenting the war. The plot is brimming with suspense—Juliet comes to suspect that Henry’s death was not accidental. Further, Beauchemin limns a lively account of America in the mid-20th century, a time of political radicalism and artistic experimentation as well as a reflexively traditional rejection of both. Moreover, she adroitly unravels this mesmerizing story, one in which the incredible is made to seem tantalizingly believable. This is a refreshingly original work of fiction, delightfully peculiar and unpredictable.

A bewitchingly dark tale, as emotionally engrossing as it is boldly unconventional.