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Addled
Eden Rock Country Club is a grand New England institution, a lush haven of leisure and cocktails, where gossip and intrigue lurk discreetly behind a veil of old-world propriety. But one Fourth of July, a flock of geese descends on the club's manicured lawns; never fond of outsiders, the Eden Rock denizens find these new guests distinctly unwelcome.
- GenresFiction
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2007
4 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
JoeAnn Hart
13 books54 followersJoeAnn Hart is the author of the story collection Highwire Act & Other Tales of Survival, the true crime memoir Stamford ’76: A True Story of Murder, Corruption, Race, and Feminism in the 1970s, as well as the novels Float, a dark comedy about plastics in the ocean, and Addled, a social satire. Her novel Arroyo Circle is forthcoming from Green Writers Press in October 2024.
Her short fiction and essays have appeared in a wide range of literary publications, including Slate.com, Orion, The Hopper, Prairie Schooner, The Sonora Review, Terrain.org, and many others. Her work most often explores the relationship between humans, their environments, and the other than human world.
Her short fiction and essays have appeared in a wide range of literary publications, including Slate.com, Orion, The Hopper, Prairie Schooner, The Sonora Review, Terrain.org, and many others. Her work most often explores the relationship between humans, their environments, and the other than human world.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 26, 2020
1/30/09 1st read: I enjoyed this elegantly witty social satire set at the country club! Her humor reminded me of Christopher Buckley or Richard Russo.
If you liked this book, you might enjoy Rattled by Debra Galant as well.
2nd read: Enjoyed again. So glad there is a new book by Hart coming out this year.
If you liked this book, you might enjoy Rattled by Debra Galant as well.
2nd read: Enjoyed again. So glad there is a new book by Hart coming out this year.
May 4, 2021
After reading JoeAnn Hart’s Float, I was intrigued by her themes and style and went looking for her earlier book, Addled. Good choice: Addled is a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Some novels are plot driven, others character driven, while others hinge on incidents. The title refers to shaking a fertilized egg to kill the developing embryo as well as to the chaotic lives of the book’s characters. In Addled, Hart takes a seemingly minor incident, an accidental murder of a Canada goose by an errant golf ball, and uses it to dissect a cast of deftly flawed, obsessive characters, most of whom are members or staff at a very upscale country club. Charles is obsessed with killing the goose (not that the world needs more Canada geese), an act which drives him into an obsession with welding (instead of “be the ball” it’s “be the torch”); his daughter Phoebe is obsessed with animal rights, veganism, and the Animal Liberation Front; his wife Madeline with self-doubt, mostly about ageing; Vita the club’s chef with the culinary arts, Frank with eating her artful creations; servile Gerard is obsessed with serving country club members; Arietta with the peccadillos of those members; Barry with a young goose who has imprinted on him; and the club members are obsessed with their golf game, their virility, and with flaunting their wealth. This makes for wonderfully strong characters with distinct voices as their lives cross, intersect, intrude, and trammel upon one another. With heartfelt introspection and a more-than-occasional chuckle, Addled is a poignant reminder that maybe the bell isn’t tolling only for us.
March 29, 2021
Addled by JoeAnn Hart is a story seen through the eyes of many characters, and the description and voicing of each are crystal clear. None of them is safe from having his or her deeply held convictions lampooned! The cast of characters that inhabit a refined, old country club in the suburbs north of Boston goes haywire when the Canada geese plague the grounds. The killing of one goose by an errant golf ball sets into motion a chain of events: the owner of the golf ball having an existential crisis; his daughter (a wannabe animal-rights activist) organizing a protest and trying to get the clubhouse to go vegan; the chef getting culinary ideas about all those geese and then there's a log hidden in a compartment of an antique bookcase in the club's library where broken hearts are engineered by keepers of this secret book. I felt sorry for the poor manager just trying to hold it all together! I am relieved Hart ended it well. Confessions and apologies are shared and an overall feeling, "we're all human" is rendered.
June 9, 2008
I picked up Addled not knowing what to expect. I got a hilarious story involving upper crust country club members, country club employees, and of course, geese. It all related back to the geese in one way or another, which makes the title's double meaning perfect.
Addled is endearing. I was enjoying the levity of the book, the way that it treated each situation as if we were watching it unfold in a terrarium of human society. The quotation on the back cover from Suzanne Berne compares JoeAnn Hart to P. G. Wodehouse and Erma Bombeck, but I'd like to also lump her in with Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The characters' searches for self-identity and satisfaction remind me of Breakfast of Champions, especially in the non-linear, transformative experiences of Gerard and Charles Lambert.
The ending drags a little too much. At about the point where Phoebe engages in her "demonstration," I began to get bored. My mind started to wander as I read. And you know why? Because the geese had served their purpose; they had migrated away from the plot. Hart was trying to wrap up all of the various storylines that had diverged throughout the book, and she does a good job, but I wish she had been more efficient.
Moments of Addled border on romance, but the book retains just enough self-deprecation to avoid succumbing to the pitfalls of that genre. I feel no sympathy for Madeline or Charles Lambert. Actually, the characters with whom I identify the most are Gerard, Barry, and Vita. I'm pleased that Gerard found something worth living for at the very end. I love how Barry is just this adorable goof. And Vita is so strong, so fun a character, that I rooted for her all the way.
That's the sort of novel Addled is. You root for certain characters, choose sides, and then watch as the chaos unfolds. In this case, that chaos is thanks to all those geese on the golf course, and what happens when one man hits one with a golf ball....
Addled is endearing. I was enjoying the levity of the book, the way that it treated each situation as if we were watching it unfold in a terrarium of human society. The quotation on the back cover from Suzanne Berne compares JoeAnn Hart to P. G. Wodehouse and Erma Bombeck, but I'd like to also lump her in with Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The characters' searches for self-identity and satisfaction remind me of Breakfast of Champions, especially in the non-linear, transformative experiences of Gerard and Charles Lambert.
The ending drags a little too much. At about the point where Phoebe engages in her "demonstration," I began to get bored. My mind started to wander as I read. And you know why? Because the geese had served their purpose; they had migrated away from the plot. Hart was trying to wrap up all of the various storylines that had diverged throughout the book, and she does a good job, but I wish she had been more efficient.
Moments of Addled border on romance, but the book retains just enough self-deprecation to avoid succumbing to the pitfalls of that genre. I feel no sympathy for Madeline or Charles Lambert. Actually, the characters with whom I identify the most are Gerard, Barry, and Vita. I'm pleased that Gerard found something worth living for at the very end. I love how Barry is just this adorable goof. And Vita is so strong, so fun a character, that I rooted for her all the way.
That's the sort of novel Addled is. You root for certain characters, choose sides, and then watch as the chaos unfolds. In this case, that chaos is thanks to all those geese on the golf course, and what happens when one man hits one with a golf ball....
January 29, 2013
How can one enjoy the luxury of a private country club membership without having to deal with goose poop on the greens?! Even if you don’t live near a country club, you’ll get a chuckle out of the characters at the Eden Rock Country Club.
July 24, 2011
decidedly odd, but nicely wrapped up in the end - a study of human nature through the vehicle of a goose enfested country club.
July 29, 2021
An elegant social satire in the manner of a contemporary Oscar Wilde! JoeAnn Hart sends up Country Club life with the insight of a true insider. A cast of compelling characters and changing scenes kept making me see it as a farcical play as I read and often laughed out loud!
Her philosophical bent of mind looks behind the farce for deeper meaning of the human condition in almost every chapter so you are continually surprised and inspired......
Her philosophical bent of mind looks behind the farce for deeper meaning of the human condition in almost every chapter so you are continually surprised and inspired......
May 12, 2021
Quirky but entertaining.
March 9, 2013
Not since Caddy Shack has there been a funnier, better observed, or more insightful novel of manners, mayhem, and mishaps surrounding a staid New England Country Club. All your friends and neighbors are here.
The story follows the terrible events which transpire one summer following the accidental murder of a goose on the fairway by Charles Lambert. We watch as his wife Madeleine, a defender of the Club's sacred records of genealogy, and his daughter, Phoebe, a staunch defender of animal rights, unravel in response to this accident, and its impact on Charles, a successful bond trader.
Hart dissects the stereotypes of club members with skill and precision, old members and new, rich and struggling, secure and desperate, looking for business or love. She also creates wonderful portraits of the staff, from the young perfectionist club manager, to the vital and brilliant chef. The minor characters are portrayed with warmth and imagination.
Ultimately what we ask of any novel is to illuminate the world around us,to shine a light on people,their lives and their behavior,and help us to see ourselves more clearly. JoeAnn Hart does this with brilliant intensity.
The measure of a good novel is one which moves or astounds us in every chapter. The measure of a great novel is one that does this on every page, which Addled does, on every page.
The story follows the terrible events which transpire one summer following the accidental murder of a goose on the fairway by Charles Lambert. We watch as his wife Madeleine, a defender of the Club's sacred records of genealogy, and his daughter, Phoebe, a staunch defender of animal rights, unravel in response to this accident, and its impact on Charles, a successful bond trader.
Hart dissects the stereotypes of club members with skill and precision, old members and new, rich and struggling, secure and desperate, looking for business or love. She also creates wonderful portraits of the staff, from the young perfectionist club manager, to the vital and brilliant chef. The minor characters are portrayed with warmth and imagination.
Ultimately what we ask of any novel is to illuminate the world around us,to shine a light on people,their lives and their behavior,and help us to see ourselves more clearly. JoeAnn Hart does this with brilliant intensity.
The measure of a good novel is one which moves or astounds us in every chapter. The measure of a great novel is one that does this on every page, which Addled does, on every page.
July 10, 2007
This book is a riot. If you enjoy country club hilarity, this is for you! It's laugh out loud funny and incredibly silly.
November 19, 2007
To be honest, I was getting bored with the story line. I'm rather impressed that geese can be involved in almost all 300 or so pages of this book!
January 19, 2009
Quirky story about the impact of a flock of geese on a very up-tight country club in New England. Love the chef
March 5, 2013
Entertaining in a Caddy Shack kind of way.
February 25, 2016
Genuinely funny. Every character you've met in a golf club is in this novel. Great story... I hope she writes more.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews