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Split Estate
Shortly after his wife, the mother of his two teenage children, ends her life by jumping from the window of their Manhattan apartment, Arthur King decides he must return with his family to his home state of Wyoming. There, his mother welcomes her wounded son and her bereft grandchildren to her much loved, but now quite diminished, ranch. But how long will they stay?
In elegantly modulated, brisk, and engaging prose, Charlotte Bacon, a master dramatist of the interwoven crises of modern life, tracks the surviving Kings through the course of a summer as they try to come to terms with the new realities set in motion by Laura’s inscrutable act. From the perspective of each protagonist in turn, we watch shy Celia and handsome Cam, distraught Arthur and his brave mother, Lucy, face themselves and their future in a Wyoming that is both beautiful and consoling, and yet beset by new threats of destruction.
A split estate is a form of real property in which the mineral rights have been split off from the other land uses to which the owner is entitled. This practice has transformed the landscape the Kings love and, in truth, their very lives have become split estates. A novel very much about America today, both rural and urban, SPLIT ESTATE is a heartrending depiction of an ordinary family trying desperately to reconnect in the midst of loss, and to find solace in the heart of despair.
In elegantly modulated, brisk, and engaging prose, Charlotte Bacon, a master dramatist of the interwoven crises of modern life, tracks the surviving Kings through the course of a summer as they try to come to terms with the new realities set in motion by Laura’s inscrutable act. From the perspective of each protagonist in turn, we watch shy Celia and handsome Cam, distraught Arthur and his brave mother, Lucy, face themselves and their future in a Wyoming that is both beautiful and consoling, and yet beset by new threats of destruction.
A split estate is a form of real property in which the mineral rights have been split off from the other land uses to which the owner is entitled. This practice has transformed the landscape the Kings love and, in truth, their very lives have become split estates. A novel very much about America today, both rural and urban, SPLIT ESTATE is a heartrending depiction of an ordinary family trying desperately to reconnect in the midst of loss, and to find solace in the heart of despair.
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First published February 5, 2008
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About the author
Charlotte Bacon
14 books36 followersI first started writing when I was a counselor in a halfway house after college and I had a colleague who always wrote, "Things just fine," in the log we used to track the states of mind of our clients. Given that they were all chronically mentally ill, 'things just fine' was a bit misleading. I started trying to use the small space we had to capture what I saw and discovered the power of clear description. I've always balanced writing with other pursuits: traveling, teaching, and now, being a mother to three kids. Those activities aren't separate for me; everything I engage in influences everything else. Words are the place where I filter what I see and think, the place I have to make things stick.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 12, 2020
After Arthur’s wife, Laura, kills herself by throwing herself off their balcony in New York, Arthur decides to take his two teenage kids to Wyoming, where they will all stay with his mother on what land she has left that she hasn’t sold (can’t really call it a ranch!). The kids have to learn how to fit in to this rural area, as well as figure out how to deal with their grief.
It’s told from all four characters points of view: Arthur; his mother Lucy; his son Cam; and his daughter Celia. It’s kind of slow, but a decent story. I liked the different points of view that explored their new life in Wyoming, as well as thinking back on each of their relationships with Laura. I wasn’t real happy with the ending, though.
It’s told from all four characters points of view: Arthur; his mother Lucy; his son Cam; and his daughter Celia. It’s kind of slow, but a decent story. I liked the different points of view that explored their new life in Wyoming, as well as thinking back on each of their relationships with Laura. I wasn’t real happy with the ending, though.
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June 14, 2025DNF
Innocent family dog gets his head blown off by father in full view of his small kids.
I got fooled by the horse on the cover. I'm outta here and off to get a tranquilizer.
Innocent family dog gets his head blown off by father in full view of his small kids.
I got fooled by the horse on the cover. I'm outta here and off to get a tranquilizer.
December 16, 2012
Very powerful novel about a grieving family. After his wife commits suicide, a husband moves himself and his two teenage children back to Wyoming for the summer where they live with his mother. The way the story unfolds, as each character pursues a path toward healing is profoundly moving. Beautifully written with a real eye for the natural world.
May 6, 2008
A serious attempt at high art weighed down by its own gravitas. Chickenshit ending. More politely:
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Artic...
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Artic...
October 8, 2008
After attempting to get into this (about 80 pages) I'm giving up. I just can't bring myself to care about any of the characters.
August 8, 2014
*spoiler alert*
I picked this book although I knew it was going to be depressing dealing with the suicide of a mother practically in full view of her offspring.
I have to give it an "ok" rating, because I was pleasantly surprised that the first almost half of the book was not that painful to read.
It GOT painful as the daughter Celia realizes that her 'crush' is actually gay and has a crush on her brother. And decides as a novice rider to jump on a feral horse and proceeds to JUMP over a fence and get thrown off, ending in the hospital.
The grandmother, a 'rancher', who pines for her lost acreage by vandalizing methane well pumps on private property with poetry verses written in spray paint.
This is the 2nd fiction book I've read recently that portrays ranchers as practically members of the Occupy movement. Ok, maybe that is exaggeration.
The second book of fiction that I've read that portrays ranchers/farmers as emotionally crippled and unable to cope with the reality of life and death, although they live in an environment where weakness -physical and mental- is punished harshly and the spectre of death by accident is not only a possibility but more likely than not, especially if one is not attentive.
The Fish and Wildlife officer who was, in her off time, setting fire to tires as a coping mechanism for the grief of her lost child.
Negatively: combines aren't used to make hay, methane well pumps aren't large enough to spray paint long verses of poetry,(not possible to write small or legibly with spray paint) and pumps aren't large enough. Not sure about WY ranchers, but most landowners with fracking wells on them are pretty happy with their compensation.
On a positive note, I kept with the book because a few of the characters had some redeeming qualities and insight. I liked the brother/son and the dead grandfather. I like to read books where I'm going to have some kind of connection with the characters. If I didn't know better, I'd think the residents of rural WY all need to go into therapy.
The title. Split Estate refers to the landowners not owning the mineral rights on their property, only the surface of the land.
Try not paying your property taxes and see who 'owns' that land.
The King must be paid to hunt in his forest.
This might have been allegory to people not being responsible for their mistakes/actions. Or that people are more than actions, I'm really not sure, because I don't think the book warrants that much attention paid to it.
I picked this book although I knew it was going to be depressing dealing with the suicide of a mother practically in full view of her offspring.
I have to give it an "ok" rating, because I was pleasantly surprised that the first almost half of the book was not that painful to read.
It GOT painful as the daughter Celia realizes that her 'crush' is actually gay and has a crush on her brother. And decides as a novice rider to jump on a feral horse and proceeds to JUMP over a fence and get thrown off, ending in the hospital.
The grandmother, a 'rancher', who pines for her lost acreage by vandalizing methane well pumps on private property with poetry verses written in spray paint.
This is the 2nd fiction book I've read recently that portrays ranchers as practically members of the Occupy movement. Ok, maybe that is exaggeration.
The second book of fiction that I've read that portrays ranchers/farmers as emotionally crippled and unable to cope with the reality of life and death, although they live in an environment where weakness -physical and mental- is punished harshly and the spectre of death by accident is not only a possibility but more likely than not, especially if one is not attentive.
The Fish and Wildlife officer who was, in her off time, setting fire to tires as a coping mechanism for the grief of her lost child.
Negatively: combines aren't used to make hay, methane well pumps aren't large enough to spray paint long verses of poetry,(not possible to write small or legibly with spray paint) and pumps aren't large enough. Not sure about WY ranchers, but most landowners with fracking wells on them are pretty happy with their compensation.
On a positive note, I kept with the book because a few of the characters had some redeeming qualities and insight. I liked the brother/son and the dead grandfather. I like to read books where I'm going to have some kind of connection with the characters. If I didn't know better, I'd think the residents of rural WY all need to go into therapy.
The title. Split Estate refers to the landowners not owning the mineral rights on their property, only the surface of the land.
Try not paying your property taxes and see who 'owns' that land.
The King must be paid to hunt in his forest.
This might have been allegory to people not being responsible for their mistakes/actions. Or that people are more than actions, I'm really not sure, because I don't think the book warrants that much attention paid to it.
July 15, 2009
As much as I enjoyed the story, the setting and the writing in this book, Split Estate by Charlotte Bacon has me sworn off books on grief. Enough is enough already. I don’t think I can take the pain anymore. (Let’s see how long this resolution lasts!!)
This is a haunting story about a family’s reaction to the suicide death of Laura King. Laura jumps from her 20th floor New York City apartment, leaving her husband Arthur and two teenaged children, Cam and Celia, to deal with it. She left no note. Everyone thought she was doing pretty well.
Originally from Callendar, Wyoming, Arthur decides to move his family back home to his mom’s ranch to recover from the trauma. They drive across the country to Callendar, to Lucy’s diminished ranch. Once thousands of acres, finances have forced her to sell much of it off, though she’s resisted the pressure to sell mineral rights. (Actually, that’s where the title comes from. If I got this right, if ranchers sell their mineral rights, they own only the surface of the land. Hence a split estate. And, of course, the subsurface rights take precedence over surface rights. So miners can trash your ranch if they want.) Anyway, Wyoming’s difference and familiarity make Arthur feel the family could recover from this worst of blows.
Bacon gives each character a voice, so each one tells of their reaction to the suicide. Arthur gets a job in a law firm, keeps what he thinks is a close eye on his kids, and flirts with his boss’s wife. His mother Lucy, a retired teacher, makes everyone conform to her schedule but becomes a literary grafitti artist, spraying poetry on methane wells. Gorgeous Cam has a job as a handyman, and sleeps with the daughter of his boss. And shy Celia works in the kitchen at a dude ranch, and becomes friends with one of the wranglers. All of them are a mess, either not sleeping, not eating, or trembling, and none of them able to talk to each other about their grief. All this self-destruction makes for a low-grade tension that ignites at the climax. The ending totally sucks.
If you’re not tired of grief stories, this book is so beautifully written, you might want to try it. Bacon gets the voices just right. You’ll just love Lucy. And the rest of them, really. But the ending sucks.
This is a haunting story about a family’s reaction to the suicide death of Laura King. Laura jumps from her 20th floor New York City apartment, leaving her husband Arthur and two teenaged children, Cam and Celia, to deal with it. She left no note. Everyone thought she was doing pretty well.
Originally from Callendar, Wyoming, Arthur decides to move his family back home to his mom’s ranch to recover from the trauma. They drive across the country to Callendar, to Lucy’s diminished ranch. Once thousands of acres, finances have forced her to sell much of it off, though she’s resisted the pressure to sell mineral rights. (Actually, that’s where the title comes from. If I got this right, if ranchers sell their mineral rights, they own only the surface of the land. Hence a split estate. And, of course, the subsurface rights take precedence over surface rights. So miners can trash your ranch if they want.) Anyway, Wyoming’s difference and familiarity make Arthur feel the family could recover from this worst of blows.
Bacon gives each character a voice, so each one tells of their reaction to the suicide. Arthur gets a job in a law firm, keeps what he thinks is a close eye on his kids, and flirts with his boss’s wife. His mother Lucy, a retired teacher, makes everyone conform to her schedule but becomes a literary grafitti artist, spraying poetry on methane wells. Gorgeous Cam has a job as a handyman, and sleeps with the daughter of his boss. And shy Celia works in the kitchen at a dude ranch, and becomes friends with one of the wranglers. All of them are a mess, either not sleeping, not eating, or trembling, and none of them able to talk to each other about their grief. All this self-destruction makes for a low-grade tension that ignites at the climax. The ending totally sucks.
If you’re not tired of grief stories, this book is so beautifully written, you might want to try it. Bacon gets the voices just right. You’ll just love Lucy. And the rest of them, really. But the ending sucks.
March 16, 2009
Split Estate is a quietly powerful novel that examines the grief of the King family some time after Laura King jumped from their tenth-story New York City apartment, leaving no explanation. Arthur and his two teenaged children, Cam and Celia, are individually and collectively damaged by the suicide, and in desperation, Arthur drags Cam and Celia to live temporarily with his mother, Lucy, in his hometown of Callendar, Wyoming. Laura's memory isn't banished by a mere change of scene, however, and as the Kings struggle to relate to each other and adjust to life in Wyoming, each has grief and anger to contend with. The novel's title refers to the mining in Wyoming; as the ranching way of life has become harder and harder to sustain, families have begun to sell off the rights to mine their land, resulting in a split estate. Likewise, Laura still possesses the underlying foundation of the King family, and the question is whether they can either reclaim what they've lost or move on to lives without it.
Bacon's spare, precise prose illuminated with poetic turns of phrase ably compares the brutal reality of Wyoming with that of grief. As the Kings settle into their lives, there is hope that the change of scene might save what is left of the family. Chapters alternate between Arthur, Celia, Lucy, and Cam, but because the grief is collective as well as individual, this doesn't result in a lack of continuity; rather, the story is more nuanced and developed for the varied points of view. Each person has his secrets that are slowly revealed to the reader, and the ending is both shocking and inevitable. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking novel of despair, family, and Western life.
hollybooknotes.blogspot.com
Bacon's spare, precise prose illuminated with poetic turns of phrase ably compares the brutal reality of Wyoming with that of grief. As the Kings settle into their lives, there is hope that the change of scene might save what is left of the family. Chapters alternate between Arthur, Celia, Lucy, and Cam, but because the grief is collective as well as individual, this doesn't result in a lack of continuity; rather, the story is more nuanced and developed for the varied points of view. Each person has his secrets that are slowly revealed to the reader, and the ending is both shocking and inevitable. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking novel of despair, family, and Western life.
hollybooknotes.blogspot.com
September 12, 2016
This provided an up-close look at some of the mental effects of grief on those left behind, much more pronounced in a case of suicide, I would think. The characterizations were good, although some things just didn't hang together very well, such as Celia leaping on a crazy horse in the middle of the night.
I don't recommend this book if you read to be entertained, because this is a gut-wrencher. However, if you are curious about suicide and it's after effects, go for it.
I don't recommend this book if you read to be entertained, because this is a gut-wrencher. However, if you are curious about suicide and it's after effects, go for it.
February 27, 2010
How can a family reconcile their studied indifference to a deeply disturbed woman who provides daily sustenance to their lives? How will a husband, a son, and a daughter recover from her final self-destructive action: his wife and their mother jumping out of a window in the New York City apartment where they shared the seasons of their lives?
Overwhelmed by his own loss, Arthur is ill fit to render care and compassion to his teenage children, bewildered and confused in their efforts to decipher why fate has inflicted such a tragedy upon them.
Unable to envision New York City as a suitable place for his family to heal, Arthur packs up his family and drives to the small town of Callendar, Wyoming, his mother’s ranch, his beginnings.
There we meet the matriarch, Lucy King, who manages her dwindling ranch, and wonders whether this new arrangement with her son and her grandchildren will provide the solace, they sorely need. As ranching loses its luster, and neighbors sell mineral rights to their land, Lucy struggles with her own personal demons.
Charlotte Bacon persuasively captures each character’s persona as they undertake essential daily struggles and in so doing, discover the inner strength vital to work through their grief, and move forward.
Overwhelmed by his own loss, Arthur is ill fit to render care and compassion to his teenage children, bewildered and confused in their efforts to decipher why fate has inflicted such a tragedy upon them.
Unable to envision New York City as a suitable place for his family to heal, Arthur packs up his family and drives to the small town of Callendar, Wyoming, his mother’s ranch, his beginnings.
There we meet the matriarch, Lucy King, who manages her dwindling ranch, and wonders whether this new arrangement with her son and her grandchildren will provide the solace, they sorely need. As ranching loses its luster, and neighbors sell mineral rights to their land, Lucy struggles with her own personal demons.
Charlotte Bacon persuasively captures each character’s persona as they undertake essential daily struggles and in so doing, discover the inner strength vital to work through their grief, and move forward.
September 3, 2012
A grieving family--father and two teenagers---return to father's hometown in Wyoming to recover what they have lost---a wife and mother who has committed suicide. Characters revealed in this raw and yet poignant story. The choices we make, the secrets we hold on to and the pain we suffer masterfully unfold in this novel.
From Arthur:
"You could give a thousand different versions of why you married the person you did. The reason could be as slight as admiring how light outlined her ankles when she wore summer dresses. You could just as easily ground an answer inside the pinched, sterile language of pathology: how you complemented each other's neurotic habits so that together you created a seamless knot of dysfunction. You could concoct another that emphasized practicality, another that stressed chance. Not even fifty conversations with a sensitive listener could come close to describing the weird continuity of marriage. Now thinking of Lucy's [Arthur's mother] stern wonder at the extent of Laura's [Arthur's dead wife] failure, he was tempted to respnd, liked looking after someone who, for once, needed me. I liked caring for a person who appreciated my strengths. Saying merely that he loved Laura was too mawkish, stark, and incomplete." p. 22
From Arthur:
"You could give a thousand different versions of why you married the person you did. The reason could be as slight as admiring how light outlined her ankles when she wore summer dresses. You could just as easily ground an answer inside the pinched, sterile language of pathology: how you complemented each other's neurotic habits so that together you created a seamless knot of dysfunction. You could concoct another that emphasized practicality, another that stressed chance. Not even fifty conversations with a sensitive listener could come close to describing the weird continuity of marriage. Now thinking of Lucy's [Arthur's mother] stern wonder at the extent of Laura's [Arthur's dead wife] failure, he was tempted to respnd, liked looking after someone who, for once, needed me. I liked caring for a person who appreciated my strengths. Saying merely that he loved Laura was too mawkish, stark, and incomplete." p. 22
September 11, 2012
This is writing at it's best. I'm in awe of Charlotte Bacon's talent; the beautiful way she uses words, the way she brings her characters to life. It's the story of a family in the aftermath of a suicide - how they deal with it (or don't), how they learn to live with it, the choices they make. There are four main characters, and I was engaged with, and rooting for, every one of them. They're not perfect people, they're real and human.
I didn't want this book to end. I was as enthralled with Bacon's writing as I was with her story. I have to say, though, that I sort of hated the ending. I'm not a happily-ever-after person, I don't need a book wrapped up in a tidy bow in the end, but this feels unfinished. I wanted just a little bit more.
Still, that's not a deal-breaker, it's still an amazing book, but that's the only reason I didn't give it five stars.
I can't wait to read more of Charlotte Bacon's work.
I didn't want this book to end. I was as enthralled with Bacon's writing as I was with her story. I have to say, though, that I sort of hated the ending. I'm not a happily-ever-after person, I don't need a book wrapped up in a tidy bow in the end, but this feels unfinished. I wanted just a little bit more.
Still, that's not a deal-breaker, it's still an amazing book, but that's the only reason I didn't give it five stars.
I can't wait to read more of Charlotte Bacon's work.
August 28, 2008
All of the characters in this book felt real to me. Not all of them behaved in ways that I agreed with but I appreciated their struggles. The book centers on the consequences of a mother's suicide. How do children, spouses, family members cope and understand what has happened?
I was fascinated by the grandmother's choice to speak out by spray painting poetry graffiti. What a way to speak out against environmental destruction.
I also appreciated the twist that was revealed at the end of the book. The son and daughter both have items that belonged to their mother and that no one else knows about. I grew up close to my grandmother and I have her nursing name plate. I found it at my aunt's house, in a box, and decided that it was important for me to have it. And I'm glad that I have it now. I understand the feeling of having your own memory and your own connection.
I was fascinated by the grandmother's choice to speak out by spray painting poetry graffiti. What a way to speak out against environmental destruction.
I also appreciated the twist that was revealed at the end of the book. The son and daughter both have items that belonged to their mother and that no one else knows about. I grew up close to my grandmother and I have her nursing name plate. I found it at my aunt's house, in a box, and decided that it was important for me to have it. And I'm glad that I have it now. I understand the feeling of having your own memory and your own connection.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2009
Determined to keep his family together after his wife's suicide, Arthur leaves New York City with his teenaged son and daughter and moves onto his mother's Wyoming ranch. Over the course of the summer, each faces grief and attempts recovery in intensely personal ways. The "split estate" of the title refers to the practice of selling the mineral rights of property separately from the land itself - an interesting parallel to the split that has occurred in this family.
This was a beautifully written, heart-wrenching story of family, grief and individuality. Told from the perspective of the four major characters (with the fifth, absent character always hovering) and filled with stunning imagery, this story is not to be missed.
This was a beautifully written, heart-wrenching story of family, grief and individuality. Told from the perspective of the four major characters (with the fifth, absent character always hovering) and filled with stunning imagery, this story is not to be missed.
May 25, 2009
The author has a gift for describing both scenery and emotions as well as creating characters that I grew to care about. Each character handled grief and loss in their own way, learning as they went along how to deal with the tremendous shock of suicide in their family. The emotions were real and the writing insightful. I initially was put off by the abrupt ending (was my book missing the last chapter?), but after pondering the ending for a while came to terms with it not being wrapped up as neatly and happily as I had anticipated.
May 4, 2009
A family is suffering from the suicide death of the mother. The book takes the children's viewpoint, (a girl of 15 and a boy of 17), and that of the mother in law. The father moves the family from NYC to Wyoming to the place he was raised. The book is very sad and no forshadowing is given of future forgiveness or healing.
June 16, 2008
A mother ends her life by jumping from a window and leaving her husband and two children. The book was well written in creating a scenario where each person tells their story and how there lives were affected, including the Grandmother. Well told, honest and heart rending.
September 8, 2008
for some reason i just like books about the wide open skies of the west and the quirky little towns and mostly the savory characters that seem to inhabit them. i actually learned about mining and a little law from this book.
July 25, 2009
Ok, I don't usually give reviews but I was so disappointed at the ending that I nearly threw the book across the room! I suffered through with this family throughout the entire story - only to have a crummy ending! I know authors say they don't control the story, but come on - you do a little!
April 27, 2010
A man takes his teenaged kids from their NYC home back to his home Montana after his wife, their mom, commits suicide. Interesting characters, very interesting observations. I didn't buy the ending, though.
July 31, 2011
After having just finished "And Sometimes Why" by Rebecca Johnson, I don't know what possessed me to open up this book. While it's very well written, it's a raw and unblinking examination of suicide and the absolute devastation it leaves behind. The ending actually made me angry.
July 15, 2012
After a wife kills herself, a father takes his children to Wyoming to heal. This is a tragic book, very emotional but well written. When I finished it I made a note that I wasn't sure that I was glad that I had read it, it left me rather numb.
April 2, 2008
I enjoyed this book, but I was looking for a little more out of it. I was also a little disappointing with the ending.
November 4, 2008
Hm. Interesting story. I really got to know the characters, and liked most of them. This was a rather sad premise though. And since the premise is inherintly unsetteling, so was the ending.
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January 29, 2020Utterly depressing story about suicide and its aftermath. I sobbed. More than once.
April 8, 2012
Very well written novel, well developed characters with strengths and weaknesses exposed. The pain and despair the characters experience was rather relentless but described convincingly.
October 1, 2012
This book was heartbreaking, but startlingly well written and beautiful. Highly reccomend!
January 14, 2014
I read this for book club, but I don't recommend it for enjoyment. I had remained hopeful, and was so surprised when I realized I had just read the last page.....
June 6, 2014
Loved it, would read again! Great story
October 1, 2014
Hated it. Didn't finish. Just couldn't. Dark. Depressing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews