Comments (0)Lark & Termite: A Novel
May 29, 2009Phyllis Levin
Jayne Anne Phillips
Alfred A. Knopf 2009, 254 pages (hardcover), $24
Set in the 1950s in West Virginia and Korea, this intertwined tale by author Jayne Anne Phillips presents one family’s secrets, losses and loves over time. U.S. Army Corporal Robert Leavitt, trapped in a Korean tunnel with the innocent families he has tried to rescue, shares his ordeal, memories and, ultimately, his death. He is particularly drawn to a young Korean girl and her handicapped brother. His part of the story is told from inside the tunnel in which they are hiding.
Leavitt leaves behind his beloved wife, Lola, whom he married in 1950, impregnated and left to wait for his return. They plan to build a future for themselves and Lola’s young daughter, Lark. We know Lola only from the memories of others until the very end, when she gets to speak in her own voice.
The scene shifts to 1959, with Lark and Termite, her step-brother. Nonie, Lola’s sister, is left to raise the children after Lola’s disappearance. Nonie is determined to keep them all together, despite efforts by local authorities to separate them. Lark is committed to caring for Termite, who is handicapped, and finding a better life for them both.
Over the course of several days, during the arrival and aftermath of a torrential storm and flood, the various strands of the story, told in the voices of Nonie, Lark and Termite, come together in surprising ways, revealing connections that have long been kept secret. Ultimately, the book ends in an uplifting escape for the two children.
This reader found the novel completely absorbing, as each character’s voice blended into one, revealing aspects of the events from their varying viewpoints. As the characters react to each other in 1959, and to the effects of time and disaster, their actions seem to be preordained by what happened in Korea in 1950. This haunting book leaves the reader wanting more.