Maintaining a delicate balance in a raging whirlwind.

Anne Barnhill
Published: January 13, 2009

Jayne Pupek’s first novel, Tomato Girl, tells the story of Ellie Sanders, a young girl whose inner strength allows her to maintain her balance while the adults around her lose their equilibrium completely. Her mother, Julia, suffers from an undisclosed mental illness that mimics what I know of bipolar disease. She is, by turns, despondent and frenzied. Ellie learns early on not to upset her mother. She tries very hard never to clink the dishes together when she washes them and to tiptoe across the room on her way to bed.
The steady point in Ellie’s young life is her father, Rupert Sanders, the manager of the local general store. Rupert takes care of his wife with great consideration, though he is strained by the effort of trying to create a normal-appearing family for public consumption. When Julia falls and loses the baby she is carrying, what is left of her sanity unravels.

Realizing that his wife will need help around the house, Rupert hires Tess Reed, the “tomato girl” who provides the local stores with the best home-grown tomatoes in the county. The Reeds have a poor reputation in the small town of Granby, with Mr. Reed drinking his way through life. No one is aware of his other, darker habits except Tess. Though it seems to the community that Rupert is doing a good deed by getting help for his wife while also helping young Tess earn extra money, Rupert is not to be trusted, either. What seems at first a kindness to his wife turns out to be a convenience; Rupert moves his under-age mistress into his home, and his reasons are a mystery to this reader.

It doesn’t take Julia long to realize that there is something going on between her husband and Tess. However, she is too unstable to do anything about it. When she does express her displeasure by grabbing a knife, her husband ties her to the bed for the night, explaining to Ellie that this is for her mother’s own safety.

This novel reminds me of Kaye Gibbons’ first book, Ellen Foster, but Ellen on steroids. For example, not only does Rupert seduce an under-age girl and move her into his home in the presence of his sick wife and young daughter, but he also does not try to hide the nature of the relationship when Ellie sees Tess and Rupert in bed together. If that weren’t enough, Tess also suffers from epilepsy. Plus, she’s been sexually molested by her father.

The one sane adult in the book is Clara, a black woman who is kind to Ellie, taking her in when she runs away from home. Clara is steady and loving, providing temporary shelter for Ellie. But in the end, nothing is enough to stave off the tragedy that’s coming - a murder, a suicide, an accident, jail - the author pulls out all the stops for this tale and, frankly, it’s just too much.
However, Ellie’s voice is strong and carries the book:

God doesn’t like selfish girls. Mrs. Roberts says so. And if anyone knows God’s likes and dislikes, it’s Mrs. Roberts. She sings in the choir, directs the Christmas pageant, and teaches vacation Bible school the third week of every July. Her name tops the prayer chain, which means she is the first to know when trouble hits somebody’s life.
Though Ellie’s voice never wavers, there are many questions that need clearing up. How old, exactly, is Ellie? How old is Tess? When does this story take place? What motivates Rupert?
Pupek has written a flawed first novel, but the book also has its charms, Ellie’s voice being the main one. The sympathy and love for these characters make the book more meaningful, and Pupek can certainly move a scene along and bring the reader in. I look forward to more from this writer, who shows much promise.

Anne Barnhill is a writer and book reviewer who lives in Garner.