The Glass Treehouse

Hugh Oliver is Editor-in-chief of OISE Press, Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education.

This highly commendable first novel is about two families living in a
small village on the outskirts of Quebec City. One family comprises a
physically handicapped husband, his wife Therese, and their mentally
retarded daughter; they are of peasant stock. The other comprises a
struggling physicist, his middle-class wife Jenny, and their
two-year-old son. Most of the story is told from the perspectives of the
two wives, predominantly Jenny. The families become friends in the
stifling village atmosphere where “the smallest incident provides a
splash like a waterbomb.” Thus, the culminating tragedy assumes
powerful proportions.

The characters’ past lives are skillfully woven into the present, and
the characters themselves are well developed and compelling; the reader
cares what happens to them. The descriptive material and sense of place
are excellently handled.

I have two criticisms. There are rather too many typos. More important
(but a matter of opinion), Nugent should have wrapped up the story more
expeditiously after the tragic finale. Still, all in all, this is one of
the most promising first novels I have read.