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The Reserve by Russell Banks
The Reserve is set in the Adirondacks in 1936 when it was mostly used as a playground for the rich and famous. The novel begins with Jordan Groves, a famous artist, landing his plane on a lake in the Cole family reserve to see Dr. Carter Cole's art collection. Groves is known for his womanizing and he's immediately attracted to his daughter, Vanessa Cole, a twice-divorced, wild, beautiful woman with a fierce, independent streak. When her father suddenly dies, her mother tries to have her committed and cut off her inheritance. Groves' wife has an affair of her own, throwing his world into turmoil. Vanessa, who is definitely unhinged, hints at the family secrets that have scarred them all. Russell Banks' novel has received mixed reviews with the Boston Globe saying, "Set against the backdrop of the rise of fascism in Europe and the deepening economic inequities of the Depression in the United States, The Reserve is at once a harrowing mystery, an illuminating psychological novel of subverted love and family dysfunction, and a powerful commentary on class structure in America."
