Very January

It's sunny and cold - about 20 degrees. With high winds from the north, the windchill dips to 0 and below. This is a vintage January day, without which winter would not be winter. In my mind, January has to feature at least some frozen gales that seem to blow in from the nether reaches of northern Canada. They rattle the tree branches and whoosh around the corner of the house. If you're in Manhattan, you face the arctic blasts full-on, as the wind races itself through the high-rise canyons. Outside of Boston, a dusting of light, dry snow fell as the cold arrived yesterday. This morning, delicate treadmarks criss-crossed the snow in the driveway, as if made by miniature one-treaded tanks. The gales made them. As they flew around the side of the garage, they had rolled pinecones from our big white pines around on the driveway. I'm astounded; in my many years of New England winters, I've never seen this before.

Amy MacKinnon Discusses TETHERED at AAUW

Last week our local Hingham Area Branch of AAUW hosted author Amy MacKinnon, a resident of nearby Marshfield, at a discussion of her debut novel, TETHERED. It was a fascinating evening. There were about 25 in attendance. Nearly everyone seemed to have read the book twice. I certainly did; it's that kind of book. There is so much happening on several levels, that once you know the ending, you need to work back and see how it all went down. Her writing is tautly understated, which adds to the tension and mystery of the characters. The book is set in Brockton and Whitman, old towns south of Boston. While Amy has carefully drawn them with a sad grittiness, she also captured the last traces old-fashioned gentility and the fragile web of community and caring that holds on through the years and generations. During the discussion, Amy shared many facets of her writing process with us. It's clear that her reporter's experience has brought her face-to-face with unusual characters and troubling social issues. It reminded me of how Charles Dickens was exposed to the gritty underside of London and went on to write about it brilliantly. Amy does the same thing. And though the book is set near Boston, its themes are universal. TETHERED has struck a chord with readers around the world. As of now, it has been translated into ten languages. I look forward to Amy's second novel, and have no doubt it will be even more intriguing.