Second Growth

by Ruth Moore

Ruth Moore’s richly textured novel follows the lives of Hillville residents and the sometimes sullen, resentful violence that pervades the down and out town. Unbeknownst to anyone, a doctor adds an abandoned baby to the twin brothers Amy Randall has just given birth to, sparking a series of events filled with confusion and longing. Moore successfully explores a dramatic range of human experience from the innocence of childhood to the wisdom of age, from the sweetness of young love to the sorrow of death in both the body and the spirit. In this once prosperous Maine town, everyone is now desperately looking for the revitalization spawned by a second growth.

Genres: Fiction

407 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Ruth Moore (1903–1989) was an important Maine author of the twentieth century. She is best known for her honest portrayals of Maine people and evocative descriptions of the state. Now primarily thought of as a regional writer, Moore was a significant literary figure on the national stage during her career. Her second novel Spoonhandle spent fourteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the company of George Orwell, W. Somerset Maugham and Robert Penn Warren. In her time, Moore was hailed as "New England's only answer to Faulkner".

In 1940 Ruth met Eleanor Mayo, an aspiring writer also from Maine, and the two soon became a couple. They returned to New York where Ruth got a job with The Readers Digest while writing her first novel, The Weir, which was published in 1943.

Reviews

[amanda s. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved it even though the story's complicated and a bit boring.

But as much as I finished it, it gets slightly better and I enjoyed it. Not exactly my favorite though because, again, I'm still in the middle of romance euphoria. :)

[Brent Brown]

Ruth Moore paints a dark picture of a New England town with a colourful cast of characters. The going is not heavy in the book and, while some characters are two-dimensional, others are more rounded. Lots to love and hate in that town!

[John Pitcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some parts of it I saw coming, but others caught me off guard. Still an okay book.

[Ann McLellan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the least favorite of the Ruth Moore novels. There was too much violence and some of the characters were not convincing. I was disappointed.

[Trish Remley · Rating 4 out of 5]

When in Maine - read a Maine author. In this case, a novel originally published in 1962.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has to be my least favorite Ruth Moore - but it is still really good. I think I prefer her older work, set before 1955. However, even modern trappings do little to mask the ever present challenges of a changing way of life in Maine. Money from away and the mechanization of the fishing industry continue to impact every household - all in the name of progress.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Ruth Moore. Written with the strong sense of place that Moore does so well, this town was at once familiar to me and also dated by the passage of time. I enjoyed the characters, the language and the insight into life's changes and challenges. The struggle between good and evil, between destructive forces and creative forces is a lasting and eternal one.

This 1962 book is out of print and was a particularly wonderful find as I've read Ruth Moore's reprinted works.

[Daniela Sorgente · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite novels by this author, and the first I read. I really liked the setting (a small town in Maine in the 1960s) and I adored the entire story of Constance Wilkinson and John Randall.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect such a well-told story when I picked up this old book. It had just enough twists to stay fascinating and not so many as to be contrived. I'm so glad to have read this book and I wouldn't mind a rereading.