The Half Wives

I do love a book set in San Francisco. Hometown pride, I suppose.

Written by Stacia Pelletier and published in 2017, ‘The Half Wives’ is gripping and even hypnotic. Pelletier’s evocative descriptions of turn-of-the-century San Francisco are so immersive that the City feels like another character. It does take a couple of chapters to acclimate to the second-person narrator. But as the complex emotion of the characters emerge, the story crescendo toward a sad but satisfying conclusion.

The entire novel takes place on May 22, 1897. It was on May 22, sixteen years ago on that day that Henry and Marilyn Plageman’s 2-year-old son Jack died. Marilyn and Henry commemorate their son’s death yearly with a ritual at the San Francisco cemetery on Lone Pine Hill. But this year threatens to be different. The City of San Francisco intends to move the graves to Colma, a new cemetery south of the City. Because of the sweeping ocean views, the City believes the current cemetery could be used for homes and businesses. Jack knows that Marilyn can’t bear the thought of moving Jack to a new plot of land. So, Henry does what he can to stop the move. (Read the author’s note at the end of the book first. She explains how most San Francisco cemeteries were moved to Colma.)

After Jack’s death, each privately mourned Jack. Marilyn focused on charity work for an orphanage. And Henry started a relationship with a woman named Lucy, with whom he has a ten-year-old named Blue. He stays with them once a week.

Jack and Marilyn love one another. But like the San Francisco fog, Jack’s death hovers over them. His death is like an invisible string that connects them and restrains them from processing the reason Jack died. ‘The Half Wives’ is a unique and engaging read.