Once Upon a Time on the Banks

Mattagash #2

by Cathie Pelletier

Set in the backwood Main village, Mattagash, this is a book about Amy Joy Lawler, descendant of Protestant settlers, who decides to marry a man of French-Canadian descent, an outsider. Cathy Pelletier also wrote "The Funeral Makers".

Genres: Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't find one character that I liked in this book. I would have laughed a lot if these people weren't so mean and pathetic. Still, she wrote well enough that I wanted to finish it and find out what happened at the end.

[Trudy Ackerblade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matagash, Maine is populated by some of the craziest, funniest, and most lovable characters ever to find themselves between the covers of a book. I am so glad I got to meet them. This book is a treasure.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read about a bunch of folks from Northern Maine who have grown up together, many for multiple generations, in the same little town of Mattagash, and so we get a slice of life story focused on the upcoming wedding of one of the town's Scots-Irish descendants to one of the town's French-Canadian ones. I won't spoil the fun of what happens but the other entertaining focal point is the town's resident n'er-do-wells, the Gifford brothers, and the lengths to which they go to avoid work and anything else that has even the faintest whiff of adult responsibility and accountability about it. I don't know how well-received the author is nowadays in her hometown in Maine (she has long since moved away and settled in Nashville, Tennessee), but I cannot imagine they are any too fond of the portrait she has drawn of what rural Maine is like. There are a few poignant moments between mothers and daughters in these pages, but for the most part this is pure escapist comedy. My favorite part is when the local motel proprietor finally responds to a guest's repeated requests for a room service breakfast--that was laugh-out loud funny.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reviews written on the front and back covers, as well as the first page, had me anticipating a great book that would have me chuckling away. I was sorely disappointed. This book was not "hilarious" and "high-spirited", "knee-slapping" or "laugh-out-loud". It wasn't "fast and lively". The story itself was ok, though I did struggle at first with keeping all the characters organized in my brain. Lots of characters, lots of separate stories. The ending was very anti-climatic and didn't really seem to fit into the story line, nor did it even seem to actually end the story. Many of the story lines seemed to come to an abrupt end, but without closure. Makes me wonder if there's another story with these same characters.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten years later, the second book in the trilogy follows up on the McKinnon and Gifford families. While this could be a stand-alone book, it was fun to follow-up on the family and know what they were like from the earlier book and see the growth (or lack thereof). Pelletier's gift is to contrast the humor and absurdity of some of the characters with poignancy and dignity of others, and sometimes even the absurd characters can achieve a certain dignity. Can't wait to start The Weight of Winter, book three of Mattash.

[Linda Metzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very poetically well-written and funny! Loved all the quirky characters. I feel like I've known people like these characters/caricatures, even though I haven't. Pathetic, yes. But almost believable. Take it with a grain of salt, sit back and enjoy the ride. And don't skim over the quotes at the beginning of each chapter...some are hilarious.

[Becky Kaiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #2 of the Mattagash triology. The story continues 10 years later with the impending wedding of Amy Joy Lawler to (gasp) an outsider who is Irish and Catholic. As in the previous book, hilarity ensues, but I felt this book had more heart wrenching circumstances of its characters. Again, a beautifully written novel by Cathie Pelletier, with humor, but more sad circumstances surrounding the McKinnon sisters and their family. I did tire a little of the Giffords and their antics, perhaps the reason for the 4 stars. I plan to read the third book, but at this time taking a little break from the town of Mattagash.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book by this author. It took me a bit to remember all the characters and how they were related, but I really enjoyed the story. The characters were interesting and believable for a small backwoods town.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing. Humorous quirky characters in Northern Maine marry, bury and live on.

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad language,

I chose this rating because of the racial slurs in the book. Also a lot of bad language. I couldn't bring myself to finish the book.

[Linda Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy Joy Lawler is getting married and Mattagash, Maine is abuzz. Her fiance, Jean Claude Cloutier, speaks French, lives in Frogtown and is Catholic. Horrors! Gossip races through the backwoods town, while Amy Joy's mother, Sicily, is dreaming up yet another imaginary illness so she can take to her bed. Once the invitations are mailed, the big city relatives arrive bringing more than what's packed in their suitcases, while the no good local Gifford brothers plot to crash the reception and steal the wedding gifts. The wedding day is set for May 1st. Can a spring snowfall bring the festivities to a screeching halt and are Sicily's wishes finally granted?

I'm a big fan of Cathie Pelletier and the antics in Mattagash. The Funeral Makers, the first book in this series, is one of my favorites. It introduced me to the residents of Mattagash earlier in their lives. Their antics made me laugh out loud. Even though they've grown up, their penchant for the absurd hasn't changed.

A Wedding on the Banks has lots of funny and laughable moments but the story just didn't come together for me. The backstory overwhelmed the present. Many times I felt like I was reading The Funeral Makers all over again. I understand that as a writer of a series, each book still needs to stand on its own. In this case, the new story sprinkled itself over the backstory. A good writer knows it should be the other way around.

Ms. Pelletier's works are funny, lighthearted and border on the ridiculous. A Wedding on the Banks is sure to take your mind off whatever is ailing you. The laughs are many. But some of her other works are more entertaining and worth taking the time to read. Just remember, this is Maine without the lobster, the way life should be. Or not.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a funny book, both in the peculiar sense and the funny ha-ha sense. I am struck by the fact that those people living in rural anywhere seem to be like everyother group of poor people living in rural anywhere. A lack of education and culture seems to be the common thread. Then, there is the prejudice against those different than oneself...even though they have been neighbors for hundreds of years and language is the only barrier. Funny in that the sex keeps getting some of the protagonists in trouble...the teenager with crabs, the father trying to ditch his mistress so his father with bequeath him a business of his own. The caddie that gets completely stripped right under the owners nose. The wedding that doesn't go off because one of the parties gets kidnapped. It has taken me writing a review to truly appreciate the book. I did think it was interesting, well-written, and a funny book. Perhaps you will, as well.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon A Time On the Banks by Cathie Pellitier
Maine, first day of spring. Amy Joy Lawler comes to town and will wed and her mother has taken to her bed.
Trouble amongst the natives, when one outsider wants to marry a native townie.
This is almost like a Hatfield/McCoy battle and some of the things they do along the way are hilarious, some very dangerous.
Lots of others are followed, with what is going on with their lives. It's about family, heritage, legacy and in the remote town close to the Canadian border.
Love hearing how the hotel business runs up there and a blast from the past : S&H green stamps!
Adult situations and never knew there was such a thing as 'sunning' but know what 'mooning' is, LOL
So many pranks and so many frost heaves. Like what they have to say about them.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of us tend to romanticize rural small town life, and I find as I'm reading these Mattagash, Maine stories that I'm waiting for those nice people to show up, people like Father Tim or Heather Lende and her friends and neighbors. But there don't seem to be any "nice" people in Mattagash, Maine. There's just people living their lives in a place where life is awful hard. Is Ms. Pelletier making fun of them? Even considering the historical times of these novels (1960s)they are living such isolated and small lives -- is that how most of us live in this world? I'm thinking yes, it is. I've read four of these Mattagash novels now, they keep my attention and are not getting lost in the stacks of "To Be Read" -- but I want people to be nice, and these are not nice people. None of them.

[Amanda Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this book, many of the reviews online gave it 5 star reviews. I do not agree. I think the book was cute and funny at times, but I did not find it overly funny. The books contains a lot of characters and Ms. Pelletier did a good job developing them and making them relatable. However, in my opinion, there were too many characters and it took nearly 1/3 of the book before it started to develop and build. I just wanted to read about what happened at the wedding and to Amy Jo. I did not really care what happened to her family or town after the "big" wedding. After reading this book, I am thankful to be city-folk.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A continuation of Pelletier's Mattagash series (I would say trilogy, but there is a fourth coming out soon!). We are reunited with Amy Joy, Junior, the Giffords and all the rest of the bunch ten years after The Funeral Makers takes place.

There are some moments of absolute laugh out loud hilarity (Come on down, Thel!), but really kind of a sad portrait of small town life.

As I said about The Funeral Makers, the writing is kind of like Mr.
Keillor’s Lake Woebegone, but with the sense that not everything is going to turn out well at the end.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Families in small town 1969 Maine--the family feud between the Giffords & the McKinnons--struggles to overcome small-town small-mindedness. The writing gets better towards final chapters--compassion towards their struggles & small triumphs. Bittersweet, wry-ly humorous.


fav quotes: "AA means Avon Anonymous around here."

"But in the mud & scum of things- there always, always something sings."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Jonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a wonderful reading experience. Wonderfully written. I read it in 1992 so I can't write a well-thought-through review. I just remember reading it and how good I felt while reading it. In my book (no pun intended), any book that leaves you with a smile on your face is worth reading.... (I think I'm repeating myself here...

[JoAnn Plante · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It had a real cast of characters. Each character was so realistic. I thought I knew some of them. She is a great writer and her ability to describe people, scenes, or things is just incredible. Cathie Pelletier emmerces the reader into her fictitious world and makes everything seem real. I enjoy reading this author.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book thinking it would be funny, but it was like reading a story about some of the trashiest and narrow minded people on the face of the earth. How can you make possible child molestation by a parent and domestic abuse funny? The only positive is that now I know white trash doesn't just dwell in the American South.

[Ann Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're looking for a novel that is full of colourful and quirky characters, this might be the novel for you. Just be forewarned that a lot of the characters are racist and/or sexist. The only reason I kept reading (and, yes, I did make it through to the end) is because I enjoyed the narrative voice. Still, overall, not my cup of tea.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a group of characters. A wedding to A French Canadian frog is the worst Sadie can imagine for her hot to trot daughter Joy. His family isn't thrilled and connive to prevent the wedding. Clashing generations of the Portland undertaking Ivys create havoc in Mattagash or havoc is wrecked on them. Hilarious, unforgettable bk 2

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

As one of several books about a small town in North Central Maine, this one was bawdy, campy, and highly entertaining if you're in the mood for a lot of small town silliness. I look forward to reading more by Cathie Pelletier who caught my attention initially as a long time resident of Nashville. Maybe she'll write something just as down home about Nashville.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved all three of the books in this series (funeral makers, the weight of winter).
wonderful, interesting characters.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story - every chapter was absolutely hilarious. This is the on-going tale of troubles and drama between two feuding families and the town that has to deal with all of them.

[Paulette Ponte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cathie Pelletier's best book.

[Bonnie Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a riot, so very funny and also sad. I liked it better than "The Funeral Makers", it made me nostalgic for my hometown and the house I grew up in.

[Xendawg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with just about everything else Cathie Pelletier writes, this book combines humor and true heartbreak in ways that few authors are capable of

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky but interesting.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great read. I found it a bit crazy and funny, but entertaining from start to finish. Reminds me of the small town I grew up in.