The Law of Enclosures

by Dale Peck

Dale Peck’s second novel offers a searing, nuanced portrait of a marriage across the decades. Beatrice and Henry—the parents of the protagonist of Peck’s debut novel, Martin and John—are first drawn together when the teenaged Henry is battling a brain tumor that he believes will soon claim his life. But forty years later they’re still a couple, in a story that moves from Long Island to the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, and from love to hate and back again. Peck bisects the story of Henry and Beatrice’s marriage with a stunning 50-page memoir about his own father, mother, and three stepmothers, which combines with the primary narrative to build an unforgettable and deeply moving book about the ways that family both creates and destroys us.

The Law of Enclosures is the second volume of Gospel Harmonies, a series of seven stand-alone books (four have been written) that follow the character of John in various guises as he attempts to navigate the uneasy relationship between the self and the postmodern world.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Novels

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Dale Peck (born 1967 on Long Island, New York) is an American novelist, critic, and columnist. His 2009 novel, Sprout, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult literature, and was a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award in the Children's and Young Adult Literature category.

Reviews

[☕Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratings:

Writing 5
Story line 4
Characters 4
Emotional impact 5

Overall rating 4.5

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Peck I started with "Martin and John" and that novel blew me away. When I came to my second Peck, this book, I was enjoying it all the while but not terribly amazed until... give this book all your patience, I guarantee it will not disappoint.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading some of Peck's other books I picked up Law of Enclosures but found it difficult to sink into the book. His writing is engrossing enough always making you want to read more but I found the subject never really engaged me.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautifully written but a tad stilted. worth reading for the imagery