The Lives of Edie Pritchard

I was expecting more of Edies thoughts. This book is written about Edie through the experiences of the men in her life. Her story is told by her relationships and/or marriages. Gaps in her life in which there were no men are skipped over. Its like you never really got a really good look at who Edie was but how she was perceived which may have been the point of the story. I was really interested in how a male author would pull off writing about a woman and her experiences of being an object. I believe a female author would have done much more with this story and shown the reader exactly who Edie was and wanted to be in her own words and experiences and not told through men. It was a good story.

Larry Watson creates believable characters that deal with extraordinary situations is the most human of ways: anger, denial, regret, and just thumbing your way out of town in a bad situation. The novel sparked colorful memories of my many years in Montana – small towns and school bullies, road trips and bars, a machismo culture and the tough women that survive. Its a honest picture of strength and survival, free of redemptive cure-alls or happy resolutions. Watson has the pulse of this barren stretch of beautiful country, and tells it like it is without fanfare or hyperbole. A great read!

Larry Watson set himself up for a challenge: portraying the life of a woman. Because of its strong theme, I\’d have to say this is more of a literary than a mainstream novel. At the beginning Edie is married to Dean Linderman; she leaves him because he tends to punish her by giving her the silent treatment. We also meet Roy, his twin brother, a direct opposite. Roy can sell snow to an Eskimo, and he\’s a lady\’s man. She doesn\’t really trust him. About twenty years later we see Edie again. She\’s now Mrs. Gary Dunn; when she receives a phone call from Roy, telling her Dean is dying of prostrate cancer, Gary overhears the call and is jealous. She goes to see Dean anyway, taking her daughter Jennifer with her, and Gary, still jealous, follows. He accidentally hurts her wrist when she leaves. Thematically this part of the book fits because Gary sees her as a possession. She ditches him, too. We skip ahead to age 64 and Edie is back in her hometown working as a receptionist. She has a stalker, a rich older man; the dentist, an older woman, suggests Edie take him into the ex-ray room and seduce him. Again we have the stereotypical possible sugar daddy. Not for Edie. Roy Linderman has been worshipping Edie all of her life. She tells him she thinks he puts her on a pedestal, and that he would be disappointed when he found out she had her foibles like anybody else. The last conflict involves her granddaughter, Laren, who has a boyfriend who might be symbolic of the bad boy some women are attracted to. His brother, Jesse, is also in the picture. Edie doesn\’t like either of them. I thought Edie was really misjudging Roy, that she should give him a chance. She resents him a bit because she doesn\’t need a man to protect her.

This year, one of my good friends and a fellow reader/reviewer told me how excited she was that Larry Watson was publishing a new book, titled The Lives of Edie Pritchard. When I told her I hadnt read any of his previous books she was shocked and encouraged me to rectify that immediately; she knows my reading taste so I did! Thus The Lives of Edie Pritchard became the 4th Larry Watson book I read during this weird 2020 Coronavirus year. Ive enjoyed each of them immensely and Im happy that there are plenty more to enjoy (as well as the movie made from Let Him Go!) While the book does follow the eponymous Edie during three crucial times in her life, its really as much the story of brothers Roy and Dean Linderman who are both in love with Edie. In this novel brothers abound, and so do vulnerable women, young and old. It explores how some men consider women their possessions, and the society and culture that has allowed men to think they should have unfettered access to womens bodies. There certainly are scenes that are hard to read (and stomach), but the main point; that a woman does and should only ever belong to herself, is well made here. On to the next Larry Watson novel!

There is literally a lifetime of experiences in this book. The author has created exceptionally realistic characters and interactions. A remarkable book that kept my interest the entire way.

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