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In Caddis Wood: A Novel
A tender, nuanced portrait of a timeworn marriage Told from the alternating perspectives of a husband and wife, In Caddis Wood explores the competing rhythms of romantic love, family life, and professional ambition, refracted through the changing seasons of a long marriage. Beneath the surface, affecting their collective future, beats the resilient and endangered heart of nature. Hallie's career as a poet has always come second to her family, while Carl's life has been defined by his demanding and internationally acclaimed work as an architect. The onset of a debilitating illness and the discovery of Hallie's cache of letters from another man set Carl reeling and cause him to question not only his previously unshakable belief in himself but also his faith in Hallie's devotion. As the memories multiply and the family gathers at their longtime summerhouse in the woods of Wisconsin, Hallie and Carl's grown-up daughters offer unexpected avenues toward forgiveness and healing. With warmth and generosity, Mary François Rockcastle captures the way that the aging mind imbues the present with all the many layers of the past as she illuminates the increasingly unbreakable bonds borne of a shared life.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2011
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111 people want to read
About the author
Mary Francois Rockcastle
10 books23 followersMary Francois Rockcastle is the author of In Caddis Wood and Rainy Lake. She is the director of The Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University, and the founding and executive editor of Water~Stone Review. She lives in Minneapolis.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 18, 2011
Lovely prose. Reminded me of Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety.
March 7, 2016
At first glance, Carl and Hallie Fens seem to have it all: a long marriage, two beautiful grown daughters, successful careers as an architect and poet, and an idyllic vacation home in gorgeous Caddis Wood. But when Carl is suddenly struck with what turns out to be an incurable, degenerative illness, the cracks in their marriage and the dark periods they’ve endured invade the present and threaten to unravel their bond just when they need it most.
A love story about both a marriage and a landscape, In Caddis Wood brings the Wisconsin forest to many-colored life and is filled with specifics about flora and fauna that inform Hallie’s poetry and, ultimately, Carl’s final work. Nature both enlivens Carl and Hallie and destroys much of what they hold most dear, but the beauty of their forest retreat is powerful enough to renew itself even after the devastation of fire and pollution. The analogies among the landscape’s evolution and Carl and Hallie’s lives and marriage are seamless and effective, and Rockcastle’s lovely prose makes it impossible not to be swept up in the peace of Caddis Wood.
*Review originally written for the San Francisco Book Review. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
A love story about both a marriage and a landscape, In Caddis Wood brings the Wisconsin forest to many-colored life and is filled with specifics about flora and fauna that inform Hallie’s poetry and, ultimately, Carl’s final work. Nature both enlivens Carl and Hallie and destroys much of what they hold most dear, but the beauty of their forest retreat is powerful enough to renew itself even after the devastation of fire and pollution. The analogies among the landscape’s evolution and Carl and Hallie’s lives and marriage are seamless and effective, and Rockcastle’s lovely prose makes it impossible not to be swept up in the peace of Caddis Wood.
*Review originally written for the San Francisco Book Review. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 2, 2016
To me this was a very sensitively written picture of a mature couple, after many years of marriage each still dealing with doubts about the strength of their spouse's love. They have somehow adjusted to their different priorities regarding family and career, and have helped their daughters deal with hardships, for one the loss of a husband and for the other a serious injury. But the onset of Carl's degenerative illness, on top of his discovery of a long-ago relationship his wife Hallie has hidden from him, forces both to dig deep into their memories and to find new ways of relating to each other. I was amazed at Rockcastle's ability to depict Carl's thoughts as his health deteriorated. The setting is their family summer cabin in Wisconsin, which offers a parallel focus on life and death in nature.
November 18, 2011
This is a strong, but sad story about a gifted architect, Carl Fens, who, at the pinnacle of his career, is afflicted by a neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s Disease. It robs him of his physical abilities, but his mental capacities allow him to continue designing an important, final project. It also means he is aware of his decline as he observes the affect on his beloved wife, Hallie, and their twin daughters. Carl and Hallie tell the story of the final year of his life in alternate chapters that are identified by the month of the year.
Hallie’s story is also an important part of the book. She is a poet coming into her own after putting her career on hold to raise the daughters with little help from Carl. Her support of his relentless dream to achieve success has strained their marriage. Two tragic accidents in the past that involved their daughters have taken a toll as well.
The other character of this novel is Caddis Wood. This forest retreat, not far from the Twin Cities, is an idyllic home for the Fens and a few other fortunate families who live there. The vivid descriptions of plants, animals, and changing seasons intertwine with the lives of the human characters and add significance to both the human and natural world This is a major strength of the novel.
The author, Mary Francois Rockcastle, directs the Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University. A local author’s compelling story in a local setting makes this an especially inviting book to read.
Hallie’s story is also an important part of the book. She is a poet coming into her own after putting her career on hold to raise the daughters with little help from Carl. Her support of his relentless dream to achieve success has strained their marriage. Two tragic accidents in the past that involved their daughters have taken a toll as well.
The other character of this novel is Caddis Wood. This forest retreat, not far from the Twin Cities, is an idyllic home for the Fens and a few other fortunate families who live there. The vivid descriptions of plants, animals, and changing seasons intertwine with the lives of the human characters and add significance to both the human and natural world This is a major strength of the novel.
The author, Mary Francois Rockcastle, directs the Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University. A local author’s compelling story in a local setting makes this an especially inviting book to read.
October 10, 2011
A Goodreads ARC Giveaway win, I am grateful for having read this book. While slow moving at times, the overall theme was incredibly poignant and thought provoking. In alternating chapters, a husband and wife describe the intricate memories, moments, decisions, and experiences that make up a lifetime of marriage. Not always good, not always happy, not always together, Carl and Hallie are facing the challenge of a lifetime: Carl's debilitating, fast moving illness. As his health declines, he discovers letters that unearth a possible indescretion on Hallie's part during a short separation in their marriage. The thought that she could have loved another man eats at him while she struggles with the thought of losing her husband amidst the turmoil.
Cocooned in their family's summer home, surrounded by nature and memories, Hallie and Carl fight to save their marriage before it's too late. They survived tragedy, more than once, survived the early years of parenthood, the years of Carl's one sided devotion to his job but somehow this illness might be the end of their streak.
I loved the idea of this book, the synopsis had me immediately captivated but the book left me feeling as though something was missing. Not a disappointing read but not nearly as powerful as I thought it would be after having read the early reviews.
Cocooned in their family's summer home, surrounded by nature and memories, Hallie and Carl fight to save their marriage before it's too late. They survived tragedy, more than once, survived the early years of parenthood, the years of Carl's one sided devotion to his job but somehow this illness might be the end of their streak.
I loved the idea of this book, the synopsis had me immediately captivated but the book left me feeling as though something was missing. Not a disappointing read but not nearly as powerful as I thought it would be after having read the early reviews.
February 27, 2013
Mary François Rockcastle
In Caddis Wood
(Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf Press, 2011)
In Mary François Rockcastle’s novel, In Caddis Wood, grief has no expiration, and memories have no boundaries. Carl, a successful architect in his early sixties, is struck by a sudden and mysterious illness and although his wife Hallie rushes to his aid, she is soon rebuffed when he suspects her of having an affair. Memories of their parents’ betrayals and weaknesses rise like ghosts and intermingle with the present against the backdrop of Caddis Wood, the family’s summer house, a setting that is at once stunning and harsh. Rockcastle wonderfully integrates the beauty and brutality of this natural world into her prose while darting back and forth in time. Gazing at the aftermath of a fire that killed their son-in-law, the couple notices life creeping back in nature even as it is drained from Carl: “The blackened landscape and charred stumps have receded beneath a riot of ferns, shrubs, and saplings . . . Together they gaze across the rolling grass, moved by the multitude of tones, the rim of smoldering trees.”
—Dana Schwartz
"In Caddis Wood" was reviewed in The Literary Review
In Caddis Wood
(Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf Press, 2011)
In Mary François Rockcastle’s novel, In Caddis Wood, grief has no expiration, and memories have no boundaries. Carl, a successful architect in his early sixties, is struck by a sudden and mysterious illness and although his wife Hallie rushes to his aid, she is soon rebuffed when he suspects her of having an affair. Memories of their parents’ betrayals and weaknesses rise like ghosts and intermingle with the present against the backdrop of Caddis Wood, the family’s summer house, a setting that is at once stunning and harsh. Rockcastle wonderfully integrates the beauty and brutality of this natural world into her prose while darting back and forth in time. Gazing at the aftermath of a fire that killed their son-in-law, the couple notices life creeping back in nature even as it is drained from Carl: “The blackened landscape and charred stumps have receded beneath a riot of ferns, shrubs, and saplings . . . Together they gaze across the rolling grass, moved by the multitude of tones, the rim of smoldering trees.”
—Dana Schwartz
"In Caddis Wood" was reviewed in The Literary Review
May 5, 2012
I bought this at a small indie bookstore and my wife raised her eyebrow as she'd read the synopsis on the back cover. It's not the genre I normally read.
Once started, I sped through most of the book. It's a powerful narrative about a couple who have flaws but who have persevered as a couple. Each has made an imprint on their family and friends. Each has contributed to their community. And each nurtured a love that fought beyond what might tear others apart.
And while I claim to have sped through the book, I'll confess to two exceptions. I found Rockcastle's writing often deserved a slower and more appreciative savoring, so I'd temper my enthusiasm for the story she tells with enjoyment of how she tells it. And I read the last chapter slowly as I always do when tears fog my vision.
I recommend this book to everyone. I especially recommend it to folks who long-standing marriages and to those are in their 60s.
Once started, I sped through most of the book. It's a powerful narrative about a couple who have flaws but who have persevered as a couple. Each has made an imprint on their family and friends. Each has contributed to their community. And each nurtured a love that fought beyond what might tear others apart.
And while I claim to have sped through the book, I'll confess to two exceptions. I found Rockcastle's writing often deserved a slower and more appreciative savoring, so I'd temper my enthusiasm for the story she tells with enjoyment of how she tells it. And I read the last chapter slowly as I always do when tears fog my vision.
I recommend this book to everyone. I especially recommend it to folks who long-standing marriages and to those are in their 60s.
October 6, 2011
Thank you Goodreads! I won this book through a giveaway and loved it! Thought provoking look at the length of a marriage, the trials and success - through love, children, illness and monogamy. Can a marriage survive all these things? Find out in Caddis Wood. Curl up with a book, get comfy, you'll be there for awhile!!!!
April 13, 2012
This uneven novel is so good in certain aspects that one readily forgives the longeurs and minor confusions of parts of it--in fact, you like it so much that you start to think, well hell, those longeurs and confusions . . . they are simply part of the kind of lives that are being portrayed here. A must read for those of that age when one friends are beginning to die.
September 27, 2011
This is a beautifully written book that combines nature and human characteristic in an unusual way . Any one who has been disillusion in marriage I think would enjoy this book. Marriage is like seasons of the year
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September 20, 2011the synopsis of this book sounds amazing! i haven't read anything by mary francois rockcastle yet, but i've heard her name thrown around a lot and it's always attach to great things so i'm excited to be able to read this one.
November 23, 2011
Really loved this book about family & relationships & dealing with death from a terminal illness. A wonderful read that leaves you thinking. ;)
February 8, 2012
Beautifully written book that gives you nuggets of information as the story evolves, but I was left a bit wondering about certain events. An engaging melancholy story that was so very lovely.
April 24, 2012
As beautiful and densely interconnected as the life of a forest.
April 19, 2012
A disturbing read but good. The idea behind it is sad but the prose is lovely. I give it a 6.5 on my 10 scale.
July 13, 2015
This was an absolutely lovely book, beautifully written!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews