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Betsy Lerner’s 'Shred Sisters' is written with such verve and poetic imagination that it’s hard to fathom how it could be the author’s first novel. Ms. Lerner, 64, has worked for three decades as a literary agent, editor, and non-fiction writer, but at some point during the Covid pandemic — without any forethought — she sat down and typed out the first line of the novel exactly as it now appears in the book, and then completed it without telling anyone what she was up to.
The novel takes place over twenty years — from the 1970s into the ’90s — and is a kind of guide for that era. It reads like a memoir accompanied by some bouncy dialogue, but is actually a work of what’s called autofiction in which Lerner mixes her own experiences — including her own struggle with mental illness — with things she simply makes up. The fictional narrator is Amy Shred, the younger of two sisters in an upper-middle-class, secular Jewish family living in the suburbs of New Haven, Connecticut.
What begins as the older sister Ollie’s impulsiveness, rebelliousness and unpredictable outbursts expands logarithmically in intensity and severity until she reaches her teens and starts disappearing from home for long stretches of time. Soon she falls into that special circle of Hell reserved for the mentally ill — drugs, sleeping on the street, random hookups, sex work, petty thievery and grand larceny. Because her parents can afford it, she spends long periods of time in a private psychiatric hospital, but to no avail.
Ollie’s mental illness leads to multiple chaotic events within the Shred family, all narrated by Amy, who simultaneously loves, loathes, and fears her sister. At times, Amy reveals herself to be almost as self-centered and self-deluded as Ollie. Yet Lerner brings empathy to all her characters’ plights, and never romanticizes or medicalizes Ollie’s life. My only quibble in the author’s otherwise superb wordsmanship is with her overuse of similes. Hers are individually imaginative and powerful, sometimes even brilliant — e.g., “…his arm hooking me like the long cane in a vaudeville act,” or “the magnolias now in full plumage like fat ostriches” — but with so many of them, their impact is weakened.
On Amy’s account, she and Ollie couldn’t be more different. Ollie is the beautiful, charming child who grows into a beautiful adult who uses that beauty and charm to manipulate her parents, strangers, lovers, doctors, the police and even, on occasion, her sister. Amy, on the other hand, is decidedly not beautiful. But her intelligence, passion for science and inner drive to excel propel her forward — to college and then a fellowship in a science lab. It’s then that she meets the first love of her life, who turns out to be almost as messed up and exploitative as her sister. Eventually, Amy pivots away from science — as well as her first love — and lands a job in publishing, while Ollie moves about among various lovers, erratically showing up only when she needs something.
In a virtual talk with the author sponsored by Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, in collaboration with Essex Library Association and Darien Library on Thursday, Jan. 16, Ms. Lerner said, “Shred Sisters is a coming-of-age novel that took me about 45 years to write.” It’s also a compassionate and compelling story about the complex nature of sisterly love in the face of the terrorizing nature of mental illness. At first glance, it might seem its appeal is only to women, but anyone will find it translates into a story about sibling relationships in general, as well as the exhaustion that comes with living in any fragile family.
Laurie Fendrich is an abstract painter, professor emerita at Hofstra University and vice-president of American Abstract Artists. She lives in Lakeville.
Lazy, hazy days of...winter?
This small stream is fishable, despite the wintry conditions. It probably won't be a pleasant or productive experience, but it can be done.
When syndicated columnists run out of ideas they do one of two things.
First they collect the last couple year’s worth of columns and call it a book. These are published to great acclaim from other syndicated columnists and show up in due course in gigantic, ziggurat-shaped mounds at Costco for $4.98 a pop.
We’re working on that one.
The other standby is this right here: The “Things That Caught My Eye Recently” column.
Item: How’s the fishing?
Lousy. As I peck this out on the Chromebook with the sticky “s” key, the latest wild guess from the weather people says we’re going to get the first proper snowstorm of the winter starting tomorrow — Sunday, Jan. 19.
If that happens as predicted then the following advice will have to include the phrase “be prepared for snowdrifts.”
If I was going to drop a line somewhere, I would go first to the West Branch of the Farmington, probably in the two miles or so downstream of the Goodwin dam.
The same water that keeps the river cool in the summer works in the opposite direction in the winter. You’ll find more clear, ice and slush-free water here than anywhere else.
Downstream from where the Swift River enters at Riverton you will almost certainly encounter ice and slush. The latter will clear out on a sunny day but the shelf ice won’t. Do not walk on the shelf ice. It isn’t safe, period, and an unscheduled bath in January is absolutely no fun at all.
If that’s not appealing, then I would try a little blue line. The warning about shelf ice applies here too. Because the brush is down, you can forget the little rod and deploy a nine-footer. You’ll need the extra length to flip your flies into the clear channel of water between the ice floes without messing with the shelf ice along the banks.
For the Farm, try junk flies first: squirmies, mops, eggs and so forth. If nobody salutes try big stonefly nymphs. If that’s a bust, Wooly Bugger ‘em.
And if that fails to click, go home already. It’s freezing out.
On the little stream, big, high-floating dries like Stimulators, Parachute Adamses and Chubby Chernobyls are the way to go. Try adding a short, 12 inch, dropper with a kebari or soft-hackle wet fly.
Item: Should I be monitoring the winter clearance sales?
Yes you should. This is the time to pick up things like discontinued models of wading boots at considerable savings. There is nothing worse than having a set of boots fall apart and having to pay top dollar for replacements. Extra worseness for paying for overnight freight.
However, this is not necessarily the time to buy new flies unless you have carefully and methodically cleaned out and organized your fly boxes so you know exactly what you need.
My fly boxes are, for the most part, still in the car. So I am resisting the lure of stocking up on size 6 Double-Gilled Wampus Busters.
Item: Is it dangerous to fish in cold weather?
Yes. It’s also mostly unpleasant and unproductive. The pain and misery can be mitigated by dressing in wicking layers and getting out of the water when you can’t feel your feet.
But catching a decent fish in the winter makes for a good story, in which the size of the fish is in inverse proportion to the air temperature. In other words, the colder it is, the bigger your fish gets in the retelling.
Finally, I note that the great angling writer John Gierach died recently.
Spend a little time with one of his books and you’ll realize that while any idiot can string a few jokes together with some basic fishing information — ahem — very few can do it in such a way to make the story about life, not fishing.
The Wassaic Project will host open studios on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 1 to 3 p.m. The participating artists are: LaTonia Allen, Jayden Ashley, Arden Carlon, Ricardo Galvan, Erin Goodine, Diana Guerra, Hyunjin Park and Kanthy Peng. For art lovers, it’s an opportunity to view work in progress and ask questions of the creators and for the artists, it’s a chance to make connections and possibly even gain new insights into their work.
Allen, a New York based multidisciplinary artist, is a 2025 recipient of the Wassaic Projects Family Residency. Of the open studios experience she said, “Welcoming people in can be a bit nerve wracking at times, but afterwards, I always find myself feeling better. Oftentimes, I have a different perspective to think about or another way to approach the subject matter to consider.”
Working in various media, Allen’s work investigates the definition of Black self-liberation. “Through portraiture and figuration, my work engages through the washes of oil paint and charcoal to explore emotions, employing symbolism related to the passage of time and trauma, personified through skin tone and Black hair,” said Allen. “I don’t know that the open studios help me view my work differently. I think as an artist, sometimes you have to be able to decipher through the multitude of opinions, good or bad, and maintain trust in yourself and your process.”
South Korean born Park is also part of Wassaic’s Artist in Residence program. Her work explores the intimate relationship between human and non-human entities, the intersections between animals, machines and technology. At the open studios, she plans to share sketches from an ongoing video project, highlighting how she merges animated drawings with video footage.
“I believe art is born through the dialogues and interactions between artists, artworks and viewers,” said Park. Of the open studios, she shared, “This experience offers an opportunity not only to share my finished pieces but also to open up about the thought processes and materials behind my practice, hopefully fostering a deeper understanding of my work.
Of the Artist in Residence program, Park said, “It’s been such a warm and heartfelt experience, and I think part of that comes from the fact that the directors and staff at the Wassaic Project are also artists themselves. This gives them a deep understanding of the community and an intuitive sense of what artists need during this winter residency.”
The upcoming open studios promise a unique chance to witness creativity in motion, fostering meaningful connections between artists and those who get to experience their work.
The Wassaic Project is located at 37 Furnace Bank Road in Wassaic. For more info, visit: www.wassaicproject.org
The Millbrook Library on Franklin Avenue is accepting personal care items for a drive until the end of January.
MILLBROOK — Throughout the month of January, the Millbrook Library is collecting personal care items as part of a donation drive sponsored by the United Way in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Service Week.
Among items suggested for donation are hair care products including shampoo and hairbrushes, soap, alcohol-free mouthwash, dental care products, women’s products, deodorant and shaving needs.
