Millersburg

Why is this novel not on the best sellers' list? Why is it not required reading for would-be novelists in university classes? MILLERSBURG is a brilliant piece of writing, entertaining and involving the reader in its charismatic characters, its unexpected, yet credible plot twists, its detailed descriptions that create vivid scenes and release heartfelt emotions. MILLERSBURG is told from the viewpoint of an omnicient narrator, now a grown-up man, but then a 17 year old boy in this New Jersey farming town. Set in 1939, it is the tale of one year in the lives of a family who have hidden many secrets, secrets that come to light when a chilling, indeed, gruesome murder occurs. But it is far more than just a "who-done-it". It is a story of people who find themselves resigned to being trapped in lives of quiet desperation, people who have always lived in the belief that "life must go on" despite what has befallen them. Each of the family members is forced to deal with shocking circumstances. One remains pathetically trapped by pride and the inability to forgive. Another is banished from his familiar, familial prison; others will escape, surprising themselves and the reader through their courageous acts. Each character is a person the reader comes to care about. The themes are universal, and reach out to touch all of us. Is it possible for us to become so disappointed in our lives or to suffer such rejection that we become incapable of feeling love for anyone else, that we gain control over others through our belittling them? Or that we slowly suffocate by giving ourselves up entirely to the whims and demands of others? Do we cling to family and tradition beyond where either benefits us because of our fear of failure, our fear of the unknown, instead, content to live in a fantasy world of "someday I will . . . ." The family members have learned in self-defense never to speak of their true emotions openly; they are "shadow dancers," moving about each other so that only their shadows touch each other, never their hands or their bodies. When real contact, emotional or physical, occurs among these people, it is deeply moving, sometimes sensuous, and always genuine. "Friction and fantasy" is a motif introduced early in the book. It comes to fulfillment in the final chapters. It is a moment of compelling desperation that lifts the experience out of the ordinary. ". . . And there was me. The stranger who couldn't cry. Someone who needed and wanted to be touched, with no guilt and no shame, giving and available. Friction and fantasy." Harry Cauley is a gifted wordsmith. The imagery he uses creates connotations that are incredibly complex, yet create deeper understanding of situation and character. We empathize. His descriptions pull the reader right into the scenes. And, this novel has a sense of humor--there are absolutely hilarious moments throughout, from the commentary of the narrator to the comments of the characters, providing

Travelling Free: How to Recover From the Past "Millersburg" is a mystery, a lyrical page-turner and a rare pure pleasure book. Set in rural New Jersey "Millersburg" is filled with interesting characters who reminded me of people I knew growing up in a small town in nearby Maryland. I wanted to keep reading about them long after the compelling plot took it's final twists and unexpected turns.

In the small New Jersey town of Millersburg a farm family is emotionally ambushed by a nearby murder that has fallout for every member. But this is not a murder mystery; the secrets and clues to them are more of the family variety, the dark corners that, once illuminated, have sorry and inevitable outcomes. Author Cauley has created a narrative thread that is simple yet complex, and yet the plot is not the center of his startling book. The members of the Wayland Family, three generations and some expertly and generously detailed peripheral characters, are so finely realized that their crises and discoveries are as affecting as any in your own family album. Small-town life circa 1940 has seldom been written with such atmospheric feeling. Cauley bucks today's trend of the long book -- it is only 200 pages -- but he creates an elegant reading experience that is as moving as it is memorable.