touch on a cheek leads to a life-long obsession. Norma Joyce Hardy is but a child when Maurice Dove enters her home in the midst of a blizzard. A young researcher from Ottawa who's come to depression-ridden Saskatchewan to study drought conditions, Dove also enters a sisters' fray.
Norma is a dark, intense child, the Prairie solitude offering few distractions. Norma's sister Lucinda is the frugal, industrious, elder sister who's run the Hardy home since their mother's death. Her beauty attracts Maurice, but his feelings are casual and tenuous. Norma Joyce, driven by jealousy, uses her cleverness to thwart the liaison however she can. With one stroke, she changes Lucinda's life, her own and, to some extent, Maurice's.
Whatever his feelings for either sister, however, Maurice is driven by his work. He returns to the farm, admiring Lucinda, but keeping Norma Joyce's fixation alive. His interest in her captivates her and she responds intently.
A family death brings the Hardy family to Ottawa where Norma Joyce discovers Maurice is now a neighbour. Her feelings haven't been subdued by the separation and she's now old enough to pursue him boldly. Events lead Norma Joyce to New York and back to Ottawa like a migrating swan. Maurice still attracts her, but she realizes avoiding him is realistic.
Hay is deft at pulling the reader into sharing Norma Joyce's quandary. Ambivalence doesn't allow the reader to slide into indifference, however. Hay's far too skillful to leave you hanging or repelled by Norma's indecision. You want to learn the resolution of Norma Joyce's fixation with the elusive Maurice.
Hay's powerful prose works at many levels. Her sense of environment is expressed with firm confidence. She notes every aspect of each milieu with compelling, but not overwhelming detail. Her portrayal of the sisters and the object of their quest is delicately ambiguous. There are no absolutes here, nor false images.
Hay draws each of them with stunning reality. That may leave the reader closing the book wondering if any of them are admirable. The one person who should wear the villain's mantle sheds it with charming facility. The charm isn't contrived, however, but displayed with gripping sincerity. In all, Hay has offered us a fine story with provable characters. Her work is worth keeping and whatever she offers us next should compel your attention.