In the early 2000s, twenty-something Juniper Kowalski has a normal life in Gobles, Michigan. She works as a housekeeper for a hotel and often hangs out with her friends and her mother, Cora. Juniper has recently returned home after living in Chicago and giving up her dreams of becoming an artist. One day, however, a fling with a married man leaves Juniper pregnant, and as Juniper's pregnancy progresses, the more she finds her long-lost creativity returning, daring her to take risks in both her personal and professional life. Will Juniper be able to overcome obstacles to her happiness, or is there another path in her life?
Daring, true-to-life, and a novel that gravitates towards bonds between women, TWINE by Monica Duncan is everything I dreamt of having in a novel, because its such a relief to read about people that I can see myself in, and it focuses more on the everyday trials of life instead of something achievable. Something else that TWINE actually delivers is Juniper is not focused on finding love, but instead, Monica Duncan lets us focus on Juniper's life prior and after her daughter Clover's birth, and a lot of her life revolves around art and friendships. Juniper's goals become possible and achievable and I loved the various ideas that Juniper had while she was pregnant with her daughter.
Other unique thing I found in this story are the women's names - Juniper's family is only "a tree trunk" (as Juniper describes her family) and the five generations of women are plagued by having negative relationships with men. Her great-grandmother is Carol, her grandmother is Jezebel, her mother is Cora, she is Juniper and her daughter is Clover. I couldn't help but think that this is a similar convention used in Ashkenazic Judaism in terms of names, using the first letter of the name so the next generation inherits a piece of their grandparents' name.
For a reader seeking a true to life tale of mothers, daughters as well as bond between women and multiple generations and of love being in a secondary place rather than the first, TWINE by Monica Duncan will perfectly fit into those requirements.
When Juniper Kowalski, a mediocre artist and graduate of
one of the best art schools in the country, gets pregnant
by her married lover, she ends up back in Gobles,
Michigan, living in her dead grandma's trailer. She fears
that her new life as a hotel maid, and as the best friend
of a subrural call girl, has fulfilled some bleak fate.
But Juniper's pregnancy also ignites a will to create.
Every hurt that she's ever suffered begins to emerge as
confrontational, public art.
Family lore has taught Juniper disdain for men. But it's
not hatred for her absent father, abusive grandpa, or even
her baby daddy, causing her issues. It's facing actual
love from a big, flawed, breathtaking man. "Twine"
celebrates a quietly radical view of small-town life,
ambition, and motherhood. It is the story of a young woman
who needs no hero, and what she does when he shows up
anyway.
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