LETTING THE HOUSE GO

A family novel focuses on rehabilitating ruptured ties and weaving new ones.

When the world looks at Richard Morris, it sees a successful novelist. But he is also a father and an ex-husband who has only glimpsed his son “a handful of times” in 20 years. When an attorney calls Richard and tells him that his ex-wife, Irene, is dying of cancer and would like him to be the executor of her estate, he is puzzled, but he hopes for a chance to rebuild his relationship with his son. Richard visits Irene in a hospice and learns that she has built an art collection worth more than $2 million. The focal point of the collection is a mysterious William Sidney Mount painting that had disappeared from public view until Irene’s attorney—once a suitor, now a friend—bought it at a Bridgehampton barn sale on Long Island and gave it to her without knowing its worth. As Richard learns more about the painting, he is glad that Irene has given him one “last, brief chance to be her husband.” But he also has to finish revising his new manuscript, which just happens to be “thinly veiled fiction about a youthful love affair and a ten-year marriage that end in bitter sadness.” He is pleased to find that his daughter-in-law and grandchildren welcome his appearance, but there is a mysterious tension surrounding his son, Henry. As Richard connects with meaningful people and places from his past, his life and the management of Irene’s estate become exponentially more complex. And that’s before the painting vanishes. Crooke’s restrained, subtle prose allows the plot to move swiftly, and Richard is a well-drawn protagonist. The supporting characters might be more believable with less dialogue and more characterization, and for a story set on Long Island’s East End, there are relatively few glimpses of the landscape and the white sails that “speckle the blue Long Island Sound.” But the solemn novel’s marriage of Long Island lore, art history, and family drama is ultimately a moving one.

Looking back is the only way to move forward in this poignant meditation on loss.