May 22, 2023
Novelist Maclear (Birds Art Love) meditates on genealogy and family secrets in this impressive memoir. In 2019, three months after the man who raised her died, Maclear discovered through a DNA test that he was not her biological father. She first sought the truth about her parentage from her Japanese mother, whose health was rapidly declining, but was forced to find most of the answers herself. In short sections named for the 24 seasons of the traditional Japanese calendar, Maclear unravels her family’s history, exploring how her surrogate father’s infidelity, her parents’ infertility, and her mother’s secrets influenced her own views on love and family: “Marital love is extreme. It is stamina,” she writes. “Marital love with complications or doubts is not a fiasco. It is a marriage.” Throughout, Maclear finds beauty in the natural world, tapping into interests, such as gardening, that she inherited from her mother: “I tend the soil for my sons now. In my mother’s shadow, I am learning how love vacillates.” As she uncovers previously unknown Jewish ancestry, she expands her understanding of her own mixed-race heritage, and the ways blood relationship have and haven’t impacted her sense of self. Maclear’s precise, hypnotic prose will appeal to readers of Margaret Renkl. This quiet story lingers. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative.
Starred review from June 10, 2024
After her father's death, Canadian novelist Maclear (Birds Art Love) takes a serendipitous DNA test, revealing that the man who raised her was not her biological father. To learn more, she enlists the help of a genealogical specialist--her "search angel"--to uncover possible relatives. Simultaneously, she navigates the secrets and lies from her childhood and her mother's past, doing her best to extract seeds of truth while struggling to maintain equilibrium with her mother. The secret of Maclear's paternity acts as a catalyst for the exploration of the mother-daughter bond. While her mother has difficulty expressing emotion, she is an avid gardener, and Maclear uses their mutual love of plants as a subtle language to communicate her feelings. The narrative is poetic, full of lyrical descriptions of events and emotions all tied to plants. As a tribute to her mother's heritage, Maclear ties the story together with Japanese words and phrases that evoke the seasons. Maclear's voice brings a vibrance to this self-narrated work, and her cadence furthers the lyricism of her prose. VERDICT A heartfelt memoir of a woman trying to better understand her parentage and herself. It is a must-have for all biography collections.--Katy Duperry
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