The Midcoast Exposes Maine's Contradictions

 

THE MIDCOAST (2022)

By Adam White

Hogarth Publications, 329 pages.

★★★★

 

 

 

Andrew, the narrator of The Midcoast observes, “The vast majority of humans … never get all that close to the center of anything.” He grew up in Damariscotta, Maine, and dreamed of getting away as soon as he could. Though his father was the only orthopedic surgeon in the county, his parents’ divorce, an unrequited love, and processing lobsters for Ed Thatch reinforced his desire to leave and not look back. That's precisely what Andrew tried to do. He went to a fancy prep school, graduated from Amherst College (where he played lacrosse), married, moved to Boston, and fathered two children.

 

Then, he and his family found themselves in the center of something: the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. They vacated the area mere minutes before the bombs exploded. This prompted Andrew to move his family back to the safety of Damariscotta, a decided scaling back of big dreams. Instead of making big bucks, Andrew is an underpaid teacher at Lincoln High school. Ed, whom he considered to be raw-boned and dull-witted, has gone from lobstering to contracting and financial success. But the biggest shock was to find Ed married to Stephanie LeClair, the object of Andrew’s teenaged desire.

 

The Thatches have two children: EJ, a town policeman, and Allie, an ebullient lacrosse fanatic who hopes to enter Amherst. Ed doesn't know much about the sport or colleges and is keen to pick Andrew's brain on those subjects. He has fancy associates among the summer people but retains the social mindset of a lobsterman. Ed also fears that Stephanie is out of his league and scrambles to keep her in the manner in which he believes she prefers. She, in turn, obtained her bachelor's degree and became a later-in-life major player in local politics. In her heart of hearts, though, Allie’s plan is the life Steph thought should have been hers. Plus, she’s suspicious of Allie’s boyfriend. Oh dear! Do we think that a cast of people in roles they either didn't desire or don’t fit them will end well?

 

Damariscotta is often cited as the most beautiful town in Maine. If you know that area of Maine, you’re probably aware of the region’s stark contrasts. In his debut novel, author Adam White incisively captures this. Damariscotta lies on a tidal river and is 12 miles from the ocean. The further one gets from the coast, though, the more Vacationland–the slogan on Maine license plates–looks like a wood pulp version of the Southern Appalachians. It’s the world about which Carolyn Chute writes. Nearby Lewiston, where few people with higher aspirations wish to live, is just 41 miles from the ocean. Unlike Damariscotta, it’s a played-out manufacturing city with sketchy areas. Were it not its medical facilities and Bates College, Lewiston might have crumbled into scale by now.

 

 

White’s novel is a study in character contrasts as well as lifestyle departures. This is revealed through plot devices such as arrogance, failure to execute a promised task, looted yachts, drugs, crooked local officials, and a lobster bake gone terribly wrong. The Midcoast morphs into a crime novel, a good thing from a reader's perspective. The themes I've laid out might sound depressing, but the story is a compelling one made more so through the depth of those who populate it. Many detective and mystery novels employ stock figures who serve as foils for a protagonist we know will make things right. Those in The Midcoast affect us to a greater degree because they seem so real.

 

If you have paid attention to recent news, you know that well-to-do parents cut corners to obtain special privileges for their children. Of course, we also learn that ambition can motivate or destroy. Or, if you will, it’s a validation of the Tenth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet. White hooks us through other age-old scenarios. Did you ever wonder how life would have turned out had you taken Path B instead of Path A? On a less weighty and metaphorical note, the novel asks: How are you going to keep ‘em down on the lobster farm once they've seen the bright lights of Amherst and wealth?

 

Rob Weir