Information Systems Manager Will Duke recommends Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane.
At first glance it might seem trite that Emily Jane creates a heroine, Jenn, who is a wildly successful author of “action smut,” her term, not mine; flowing hair, deep kisses, and washboard abs do have cameos in this novel. There is also, of course, a pushy editor who loves Jenn, not romantically but in a “You go girl!” way. But do any of us want to read another book about an author?
But the author is not content to stop there. Jenn, our main character, has been informed that her husband wants a divorce, mostly because Jenn has been working too hard. And this guy, he’s so caught up in the ridiculously selfish throes of self-actualization, he’s pretty much a lost-cause jerk. At least there’s not another woman.
But wait, there’s more! There are children, admittedly adorable children, because Jenn loves them, who are fully ensconced in the life philosophy of Pokémon. But the little tykes are totally taking advantage of the parental power struggle, “Dad would let us do it.” Our heroine wrestles with good parenting vs. earning points with the kids for the pending divorce. Beleaguered Jenn gives in over and over again with too much junk food and what can only be generously called lenient discipline. For maximum exasperation, and comic relief, there is Barry the family dog.
But Emily Jane isn’t finished piling on. Our heroine, Jenn, who has been working too hard, has put off processing her mother’s death from cancer. Jenn takes the kids to her hometown to clean up her mom’s house. She knows this is tantamount to abducting them, but there is no custody agreement, yet, and since she’s aware, isn’t this just an adorable flaw? At the house Jenn meets the handsome contractor with washboard abs, sent like a present from the editor friend, to help floundering Jenn repair the disintegrating house, metaphor anyone?, and evict the family of opossum currently living therein.
But, the author puts a cherry on top of all that. Jenn’s also drinking too much, only after the kids go to bed. And, worst sin of all, hungover, doesn’t make a healthy breakfast for everyone. This family is subsisting on not just junk food, but pure candy. Although, on second thought, the candy might be her saving grace. Doesn’t the heroine always get to eat anything she wants?
But Emily Jane is one tricksy author. While she has trotted out the full catalog of mid-life crises to bury Jenn, it’s all background. This is not a domestic drama novel; it’s speculative fiction. The novel begins by returning a lost childhood friend, Timmy, who disappeared 30 years ago into the ocean. And get this, Timmy is still 10 years old. See, he was taken and returned by an alien; time doesn’t move like you think it does. Timmy is back to save the world, and he needs Jenn’s help.
The author does a brilliant job of discombobulating the reader with all that chaos, leaving us as off balance as Jenn. While Jenn is somewhat haphazardly protecting her children, saving the world, and getting a good deep kiss, Jane carries us through all of the nostalgia, angst, existential crisis, guilt, love, empathy, self-medication, terror, and absurdity a middle-aged author experiences. Jenn survives ecological disaster and prevents an apocalypse, while navigating her life, as many a mother does. The brilliant part is that while Jane is tossing us about, she leads us to poignant moments where “it” suddenly makes sense. Moments when, while all of the plates are spinning, Jane gives the attentive reader a moment of beautiful clarity and understanding.
Will Jenn and Timmy and the kids and contractor save not just the world, but the whole universe? You’ll have to read Here Beside the Rising Tide to find out!
