Author probes the challenges of marriage
Bride tries to outrun a secret from her past, one she must keep from her husband
One of the gifts of historical fiction is its ability to underscore the unchangeable aspects of humanity.
Such is the case with Halifax writer Carol Bruneau’s new outing “A Circle on the Surface,” which probes the timelessness of troubled marriages.
In this page-turner, the bestselling author transports readers back to the Maritimes of the Second World War, illustrating how wartime unions could be just as complex, and tenuous, as modern ones.
The novel centres on Enman Greene and his war bride, Una. It’s 1943, and they’ve returned to the sleepy rural town of Enman’s youth, the fictional Barrein, Nova Scotia, after a hasty courtship in the city.
His mother has died, and, in the ensuing shock and grief, the couple’s newly-formed bond is showing cracks.
Una, a former schoolteacher, wants more than the cloistered village can offer. She longs for the excitement of cosmopolitan life: The shops, the bustling crowds, the after-dinner dessert outings, the sense of purpose her profession provided.
Add to that, she’s outrun a secret from her past — one she must keep from her husband, a man “good to a fault,” she believes. Meanwhile, Enman, a country man through and through, is relieved to be away from the hectic city. He has no intention of moving back, regardless of Una’s wishes.
What’s more, he’s inherited a thirst for the drink from his father, and can’t leave the bottle alone, continually shattering the fragile intimacy that exists between him and his wife.
The couple’s incompatibility — which unfolds through small, agonized daily interactions — is amplified by news that should make them both happy, but instead threatens to overwhelm.
As the marriage breaks apart, world events press upon them. Rumours abound of German sailors appearing on land, and a body is discovered on the beach.
Una meets a stranger who changes the course of her life. And her marriage.
Told with a meticulous eye for detail, Bruneau’s voice is simple, elegant, arresting.