That Old Cape Magic

Richard Russo

Things have not quite turned out as he planned and as Jack drives along his mind is plagued by thoughts of his parents – one now dead – and the unhappiness of their marriage. Jack’s parents are frustrated academics who toiled at colleges, always believing they were better than everyone else, who cheated on each other and treated everyone with disdain.

Even now, with his father’s ashes in the boot of the car, Jack cannot escape the memories of his parents’ journeys to Cape Cod, perhaps the only happy times they spent together. Their own plans to retire to the Cape never materialised and for all their supposed intelligence, they are revealed as snobs. Jack’s musings soon include the disappointment of his own life.