The Narrow Land
| Author | Christine Dwyer Hickey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Atlantic Books |
| Publication date | 7 March 2019 |
| Media type | Print and ebook |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | 978-1-78649-671-3 |
The Narrow Land is a 2019 historical fiction novel by Irish author Christine Dwyer Hickey. It is set on Cape Cod, part of the United States in 1950. The novel combines fictional characters with a portrayal of the marriage between American artists Edward Hopper and Josephine "Jo" Hopper. Its principal characters include Michael, a German orphan traumatised by the Second World War and Richie, an American boy whose father was killed during the conflict.[1]
The novel won the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction but because of restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the result was announced on the BBC Radio 4 programme Front Row, rather than at the Borders Book Festival.[2][3] The book also won the inaugural Dalkey Literary Award for Novel of the Year.[4] It was also shortlisted for the Eason Novel of the Year category at the 2019 An Post Irish Book Awards.[5][6]
Background and composition
Hickey began developing the novel after hearing a story in Leipzig in 2012 about malnourished German children, who had been sent to farms to recover after the Second World War. Her research subsequently included the United States government's policy towards displaced European children and the destruction of Berlin at the end of the conflict. After visiting Cape Cod and seeing locations painted by Hopper, Hickey decided to place her fictional German child within the landscape associated with the artist.[7] On the Hopper part, while recovering from surgery for kidney cancer, Hickey repeatedly watched a documentary about Edward and Jo Hopper.[8] She later studied Gail Levin's biography of Hopper and the surviving accounts of the couple's difficult marriage. Hickey said that she wanted to explore both partners' perspectives rather than accept Jo Hopper's diary as a complete account of their relationship.[8]
The novel is set during 1950, a period Hickey considered important because of the growth of American consumer culture, changing expectations of women after the Second World War and the beginning of the Korean War. The structure was partly influenced by The Planets by Gustav Holst, while its narrative moves towards an imagined explanation for Hopper's 1950 painting Cape Cod Morning.[7] The novel was published by Atlantic Books on 7 March 2019.[9]
Plot
.jpg)
In the late summer of 1950, ten year old Michael is sent away from his adoptive parents in New York while they prepare for the birth of a child. Michael, who survived a concentration camp and remembers little of his early childhood in Germany, travels to Cape Cod to stay with the wealthy Kaplan family. He is expected to become a companion to Richie, whose father was killed during the Second World War but the two boys initially struggle to understand one another.[1]
The boys encounter Edward and Jo Hopper, who are spending the summer at their nearby house. Edward is suffering from poor health and an inability to paint, while Jo is resentful of the attention given to her husband's work and the decline of her own artistic career.[10] Michael forms an unexpected friendship with Jo, while Edward becomes close to Richie. Edward and Michael are also drawn to Richie's aunt Katherine, who is gravely ill and living with the Kaplan family.[10] As the summer progresses, the relationships among the Hoppers, the boys and the Kaplan family expose unresolved grief, jealousy and memories of war. The narrative moves principally among the perspectives of Michael, Jo and Edward, using their differing perceptions to examine loneliness, marriage, artistic frustration and the continuing psychological effects of the Second World War.[1]
Reception
Reviewing the novel for The Irish Times, Alan Murrin praised Hickey's handling of perspective and her balance of thought, action, emotion and suspense.[1] He described the characters as distinct and fully realised, and identified the lengthy party held by the Kaplan family as the novel's central dramatic sequence.[1]
Fiona Alison of the Historical Novel Society described the book as a deliberately slow examination of relationships and loss, noting the friendship between Michael and Jo and the way in which the childless Hoppers' relationships with the two boys alter the couple's marriage.[10] Hot Press characterised the novel as an understated and modernist examination of marriage, class, childhood, art and the residual effects of war, comparing its restrained style with Hopper's paintings.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Murrin, Alan (2 March 2019). "The Narrow Land review: fine novel focuses on Edward Hopper's wife". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Christine Dwyer Hickey wins the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for The Narrow Land". Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Irish author Christine Dwyer Hickey wins Walter Scott historical fiction prize". BBC News. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Flood, Alison (12 June 2020). "Fictional portrait of Jo and Edward Hopper wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Shortlist announced for Irish Book Awards 2019". RTÉ.ie. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Winner of the Novel of the Year 2020". Dalkey Literary Awards. Zurich Ireland. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- 1 2 Dwyer Hickey, Christine. "Homing in on Hopper". Bookanista. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Christine Dwyer Hickey: On Writing, Patrick Kavanagh, And New Novel The Narrow Land". Hot Press. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "The Narrow Land". Atlantic Books. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Alison, Fiona (November 2020). "The Narrow Land". Historical Novel Society. Retrieved 30 July 2026.