Norumbega Park (Giardina) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Norumbega Park, which moves from the late 1960s to the early 21st century, contains a good deal of graceful writing, especially in its initial sections. The subtle nuances of class; the charged eroticism between siblings, between husband and wife, between parents and children; the examination of faith and its loss — all are explored in rich, believable ways.
Jennifer Gilmore - New York Times Book Review


The beautiful, audacious fifth novel from author and playwright Anthony Giardina, follows the lives of Richie [Palumbo] and his family for 40 years.... Giardina is a master of prose that’s engaging but never seems rushed—he covers four decades in just over 300 pages. But his pacing remains natural and unhurried. His characters are as emotionally rich and complex as any you’ll find in the novels of Richard Ford, John Updike and Richard Yates.... Like Updike, [Giardina] deals with some uncomfortable themes—much of Norumbega Park deals with the delicate, sometimes awkward intersection of family and sexuality—but he handles them beautifully. And while many authors reflexively lapse into despair and pessimism, Giardina sticks with a truer kind of realism. Things might be bad; they might even be worse than they seem; but there’s always at least a chance of redemption.... There are countless emotional pitfalls authors can fall into, but Giardina has avoided every one, and the result is majestic—Norumbega Park is one of the bravest, most memorable American novels in years.
Michael Schaub - National Public Radio


One night in 1969, while driving with his family, Richie Palumbo accidentally discovers the (fictional) New England town of Norumbega, a WASPy enclave west of Boston, and falls in love at first sight with an old house near the town center—as well as what he and his family could become there. So begins Giardina’s contemplative new novel, which weaves the perspectives of the Palumbo family—wife Stella, son Jack, and daughter Joannie—over the course of 40 years as they struggle with faith, desire, and disappointment. Richie’s dreams prove elusive, and the Palumbos are ill-prepared for their new community: “The furniture they’d brought was full of the angles of an imagined future that, he realized now, had already dipped into the past.” Stella resists the town from the beginning, while Jack rebels against the weight of his father’s expectations by channeling his teenage energy and looks into seducing as many girls at Norumbega Regional High as he can. Joannie slips from her father’s grasp and becomes a cloistered nun. There are moments of grace and beauty—a late-night swim on an empty lake, an illicit glide across an iced-over pond—and Giardina (White Guys) effectively portrays the cloistered world of contemporary nuns. However, the characters’ malaise and dissatisfaction becomes claustrophobic.
Publishers Weekly


On an excursion beyond suburban Boston, Richie Palumbo stumbles across the town of Norumbega Park. While there, he has a vision of moving to the town and providing a perfect WASP environment for his children. He imagines himself as a pillar of the community, his wife as a society lady, his son as a popular athlete/scholar, and his daughter as a desirable, smart cheerleader type. Despite protests from his family, he settles them in Norumbega to live his dream. As with most dreams, reality doesn't quite match up. His son excels neither as a scholar nor as an athlete. His daughter joins a convent immediately after high school. His wife dies of cancer. Each character is left wondering how Richie's dream created the life they eventually led. Verdict: Giardina (White Guys) writes clearly and sympathetically about life's journey as he examines the turbulent waters where parental dreams and the aspirations of their children meet. This book will appeal to thoughtful fiction readers. Recommended. —Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence
Library Journal


Genuine and deeply felt...Giardina places clauses side-by-side like blocks, no mortar visible, the lines of the structure straight and strong to create solid fiction that can contain and support all of our human longings.
Booklist


(Starred review.) A graceful novel of an American family struggling to find identity and spiritual meaning in an age resistant—and even hostile—to their fumbling attempts... [Norumbega Park] is a superb novel on every level, for Giardina fully fleshes out his characters as he scrutinizes their personal, family and social lives.
Kirkus Reviews