BOOKED Solid

"I prepare myself, but happily, for more memories, more drink—too many, too much—and think of the moment when I will open the door to my true, my chosen home, to that laughably daring red room, throw down my baggage, greet my bird and my dog, and unplug my phone. Not because I won’t be glad to hear my friend’s voices but because I will need to sleep for hours and hours before waking to look again at the life I am learning, just learning to live."—Fenno

It is hard to believe that a novel about so much death can possibly leave a reader feeling hopeful for the living. Set during three different years, 1989, 1995, and 1999, in the month of June, Glass allows her readers a glimpse into the inner thoughts and struggles of three different characters, each one finding solace and even knowledge by reflecting upon their pasts as they meet a new struggle in the present. Three Junes begins with the voice of Paul, a man who has just lost his wife of many years. He is traveling through Greece on a whim with a tour group, searching for some closure to a relationship not without its problems. He has been a journalist in Scotland and run his own family’s newspaper, since he returned from the war and married Maureen, a simple barmaid. He has no illusions about the differences between them; at times, her sharp but practical wit is the perfect complement to his wordy profession. Other times, however, he realizes how private Maureen’s thoughts have been, how her silence often kept him guessing. Maureen’s dedication to her dogs, champion sheep-herding collies served as an outlet for her passion throughout her life. It is easy to imagine a spouse being jealous of the dogs, the time invested in them, but Paul is different. He seems to accept that the dogs are a part of his wife, as much a part as her children, and his relationships with dogs and sons are equally complex, especially following Maureen’s death.

Glass leaves Paul traveling, and moves the novel six years into the future. Paul’s oldest son, Fenno, is living in New York City, and the funeral he is about to attend is now his father’s. Fenno, whom Paul secretly admired and identified with, is so emotionally paralyzed by the fear of his own death that he has forgotten how to live. Over the past decade, Fenno has buried several friends, one closer than the rest, all lost to AIDS. When the news of his father’s death arrives, Fenno is trapped in an emotionally unfulfilling relationship with a mysterious and secretive artist. It is the first time in years he has succumbed to physical desire like this, and there is a degree of shame in it for him. Not shame of being gay, but his own private failure to remain aloof and above the messy earthiness of sex. This shame, and Tony’s own intimacy issues, prohibit the two men from developing their relationship, and following Mal’s death, the relationship is simply too painful to bear in its present state. His trip to Scotland for his father’s funeral is about more than saying goodbye, then. It is also a way for Fenno to reevaluate many of the decisions he has made since the death of his friend Mal. Once he arrives, Fenno is forced to fight the isolation he feels from the family he left behind. His two younger brothers, now grown with families of their own, make many of the decisions regarding Paul’s funeral. As it turns out, they have plenty of other decisions for Fenno to make while he is there, decisions that may change his life forever.

Glass spends the final portion of the novel with Fern, a woman the reader met ten years prior in Greece, the subject of Paul’s attention while grieving for his wife in Greece. Struggling with an unplanned pregnancy, Fern meets Fenno for the first time through her friendship with Tony, Fenno’s former lover (and current friend). The bond that grows between them allows the novel to come full circle, not through funerals, but through new life.

The way Glass moves seamlessly between the present and the past is simply a pleasure to read, and allows for an easy bridge to form between the two. Three Junes is a novel that asks a reader to examine how our emotional isolation stunts our maturation, not only as a reader, but as a person. In isolation, people are simply the subject of interpretation by others.

Sharing, talking, and truly living with others allows a deeper perspective, a glimpse into the inner workings of the people to whom we are closest. Glass’s characters teach us about living with regret while looking to the future for something better.

Rebecca James lives in Allentown, PA where she is working on a Master’s degree in Education. She begins teaching English in the fall, and hopes to do her lesson plans on the beach this summer.