Every Last Cuckoo

by: Kate Maloy

Published by: Algonquin

Reviewed by Andrea Sisco

Every Last Cuckoo is truly an original novel with characters that shine. They live and breathe on the pages of this novel.

Sarah Lucas is seventy-five and her husband Charles is five years her senior. They are living out their lives in relative peace and prosperity in Vermont. But when Charles dies suddenly from an injury he received while walking in the woods, Sarah’s grief is immeasurable.

Through Sarah’s grief she remembers the past: the joys, the defeats, the everyday things of life. We visit Sarah’s childhood, her marriage, the raising of her three children and grandchildren and everyday relationships with friends.

Sarah’s family survived during the great Depression by bringing together family members who were in need. Now, following Charles’ death, Sarah’s life begins where it left off in childhood. She fills her house with cuckoos (the reader will understand if they know anything about cuckoo’s nesting traditions) that include her granddaughter Lottie and several of her friends who are estranged from their families; an Israeli pacifist who is writing a book; a young woman and her son who have lost everything in a fire; an old friend who is recovering from surgery; and a woman and her infant who are running from an abusive man. These different people form a family of sorts. They grow together as they get to know each other. And each in their own way gives of themselves to the others.

Part 1 of Every Last Cuckoo is stunning. The beauty and cadence of the story draws you in in such a way that you feel you are living the story. Part 2 was equally as interesting but somewhat jarring. The comfort of the first part of the novel was missing, although the last several chapters found its way back.

I found myself uncomfortable with Sarah’s tacit approval of her granddaughter’s involvement with pot, alcohol and sex–but oh, lying was not acceptable behavior. There was also the suggestion that an elderly friend sold pot to seniors and that’s acceptable because they might be in pain. I abhor the messages that sex, drugs and alcohol are to be accepted in children because they’re going to do it anyway and that breaking the law is okay if it can be justified.

Armchair Interviews says: A wonderful book that may ”˜jar’ some people’s sensibilities.

Author’s Web site: http://www.KateMaloy.com