Addled: A Novel [Hardcover]

JoeAnn Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2007

Eden Rock Country Club is a grand New England institution, a lush haven of leisure and cocktails, where gossip and intrigue lurk discreetly behind a veil of old-world propriety. But one Fourth of July, a flock of geese descends on the club's manicured lawns; never fond of outsiders, the Eden Rock denizens find these new guests distinctly unwelcome.

When Charles Lambert, a bond trader with a strong portfolio but a weak golf game, accidentally kills a goose with a wayward drive, he sets in motion a series of events that will leave the club and its members changed forever. His wife, Madeline, must face the mutterings of other members about the state of her marriage--and his sanity. Meanwhile, their daughter, an animal rights activist, mounts a quixotic campaign to make the club go vegan, much to the annoyance of Vita, a talented, obsessive chef who has her own plans for the geese.

A deftly observed social comedy, ADDLED is a rich and riotous story of old money, new ideas, and the power of passion to disrupt even the most orderly of worlds.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hart's debut sardonically exposes the inner lives of the members of New England's prestigious Eden Rock Country Club. Bond trader Charles Lambert's botched tee-off accidentally kills a goose that's part of a huge flock that has invaded the club's grounds, spurring him to eccentrically "examine the balance sheet of his soul." The other members think he's lost his mind, forcing his wife, Madeline, still out of her depth with Eden Rock's old money, to deal with the gossip and cross looks, while their animal rights activist daughter protests the club, insisting it go vegan. Meanwhile, the club's chef, Vita, is secretly fattening up a portion of the flock with the illicit intention of creating an unforgettable meal for club members. The damage-controlling club manager, Gerard Wilton, the dieting Dr. Frank Nicastro and the secret-mongering dowager Arietta Wingate round out the cast. While some of the lesser characters tiptoe dangerously close to stereotypes of the rich and privileged, Hart does an admirable job of developing memorable flawed characters and letting them loose in an absurd situation. The misunderstandings, unusual pairings and comic antics call to mind the twists and turns of an old-fashioned drawing room comedy. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Out of an overly familiar setting and well-worn themes, first-novelist Hart fashions an inspired social comedy. Madeline Lambert is facing a challenging summer. Ever since her husband killed a goose with an errant golf shot at the Eden Rock Country Club, he has virtually abandoned the family. Sequestered in his garage while indulging in his new hobby, metal sculpting, Charles has morphed from a staid businessman into an unshaven, absent-minded philosopher. There's also Madeline's daughter, Phoebe, who is on a campaign to force the club to go vegan by staging an embarrassing series of demonstrations. Elsewhere at the club, the talented chef is eyeing the ubiquitous geese with culinary intentions, and the buttoned-down general manager finds his routine and his equilibrium upset by Phoebe's passionate protests. With a delightfully wacky sense of humor and a subtle use of metaphor, Hart delivers a story of transformation. The lure of romance, rejuvenation at midlife, and the joys of creativity are all given their due in a first novel that is both very funny and very moving. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First edition. edition (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316015008
• ISBN-13: 978-0316015004
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JoeAnn Hart was born in the Bronx, NY and currently lives in Gloucester Ma. Her short stories and essays have appeared in a number of literary magazines such as Prairie Schooner, Hobart and Open City and she is a regular contributor to the Boston Globe Magazine. Her novel, a social satire, Addled, was published by Little, Brown in 2007, and concerns issues near and dear to Hart's heart, such as animal rights, cooking, and positioning in the social order.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books so far in 2007, September 9, 2007

By 

Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Addled: A Novel (Hardcover)

ADDLED by JoeAnn Hart
September 9, 2007

Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I loved this debut effort by JoeAnn Hart. ADDLED takes place at a posh exclusive country club that has been invaded unfortunately by a gaggle of geese. The writing is witty and humorous, and readers will chuckle as they read about the problems faced at this club.

The story opens with a group of men golfing at the club, and Charles Lambert, one of the club members, accidentally kills a goose while playing. As the club tries to find ways to deal with the unwanted geese (solutions such as cooking the geese come into play), there is also a controversial secret book that is at the heart of the social life of the club.

Madeline is Charles' wife, and she is a co-conspirator to this so-called book that details all unwanted couplings that have happened with members of the club. She and the elderly Arietta Wingate use this book to help prevent future unwanted couplings, and have in fact prevented a few embarrassing romances.

Madeline and Charles' are in a relationship that is falling apart, exacerbated by Charles' insane actions since he killed the goose in the opening chapter. His behavior to the outside world (and the club members) is clearly not normal, to Madeline's embarrassment. She sees it as an end to her marriage, and is dreading the day he will ask for a divorce.

On the other end of the club is Vita, the new chef at the club. She has an odd relationship with one of the club members, a man who loves to eat and gives Vita advice and motivation to create fantastic meals to the club members. She sees he is overweight and her goal is to create delicious meals that are also low in calories. It is she that decides to fix the geese problem by fattening them up and eventually serving them for dinner. The idea is insane, and no one can know about this. She covertly feeds the birds organic grains (inspired by Charles' and Madeline's daughter Phoebe, who also has a plot line that is as insane as the rest of the characters in this book).

I can't say enough about ADDLED, a book that is witty and smart and funny all at the same time. This is not a light read however. It is not chick lit. It is not a beach read. But for those who appreciate fine writing and the telling of a good story, this book is for you. It will definitely be on my list of top books read in 2007.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling enough to Finish Reading, January 16, 2008

By 

Helen T. Diehl (Ivyland, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Addled: A Novel (Hardcover)

I found this book to be a little confusing. There were alot of characters to keep track of & many story lines to follow. It was interesting enough to keep me reading just to see what happens. I thought the book was predictable as far as what eventually happens. Writing style was engaging - though i was NOT inspired to pass this book onto friends.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Cross Purposes, April 1, 2008

By 

Richard A. Mitchell "Rick Mitchell" (candia, new hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Addled: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a fun satiric account of a season at a posh Boston country club. Seemingly, everyone is at cross-purposes and it all begins with a iron shot that kills a goose. Then the fun starts.

A few of the cross-purposes: the goose killer's daughter is an animal rights activist who loves to demonstrate and takes to her task warmly. On the other side is the up-tight, young, super-trained Cornell graduate manager who takes on the demonstrators and the geese. At the same time he is trying to eliminate the geese his groundskeeper is raising a gosling and the chef is fattening them to get them ready for the season-ending banquet.

There is plenty of humorous conflict and even more barbs at the rich and leisurely. An old member and her protege even keep "the book" where pregnant members reveal the real fathers of their babies so inappropriate marriages can be prevented in the future.

The characters in this book are terrific. Almost all start out as stereotypes, but through Ms Hart's deft handling, they soon assume depth and surprising attributes, both good and bad. Several of them are very memorable.

This is a fun read that will keep you giggling with an occasional guffaw thrown in. Ms Hart takes particular relish in taking the characters with the most extreme positions in life and showing how they will compromise when their personal needs require it.

This book is very amusing and. at times thought-provoking, which is a very good combination. Highly recommended.