In Rundle Junction, New York (a fictional town) in the Catskills, Benita and Walter are preparing to have hordes descend upon their family home for their daughter's wedding. Benita is the fifth generation of her family to live in her house - which was once also a general store and post office.
The first to arrive is her great aunt Glad, picked up from her retirement home by Walter. She is 94 years old and lives as much in her memories as she does in the present. Through her we learn of the history of Rundle Junction and the famous pageant of 1927.
Clem their artistic, passionate eldest daughter will not let them help with any wedding preparations. They have no idea what to expect as her friends arrive all week long for the ceremony.
Told through many wonderful, and some annoying, characters this is the story of both family and society. Both the ghosts of the past and the present changes reveal the character of the town and people in general. The sections from the youngest son's point of view are rich and lush as he imagines his way through the jungles of the back yards.
Leah Hager Cohen includes some that other authors would ignore. She is really a master of story telling. This book was a surprise and a delight.
Cohen, Leah Hager. (2019). Strangers and Cousins. New York: Riverhead Books.
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