The Politics of Adult Families

The Politics of Adult Families
'Ryder's House' by Edward Hopper Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design

From John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" to Grace Metalious's "Peyton Place" to Aaron Spelling's "Dynasty," no matter what part of the country you're in, the untimely reveal of buried family disputes has remained at the heart of American fiction. Adrienne Brodeur's summer novel from Simon & Schuster, "Little Monsters," pinpoints itself along the New England coast, on the chilly whaling beaches of Cape Cod, where a wealthy family of thinkers dwells in its own resentments. Brodeur will appear on Thursday, Sept. 7, in Kent, Conn., as part of House of Books new series, "Salon at Swyft." The dinners held in a private room in Ore Hill & Swyft, an upscale wooden tavern known for its wood-fired pizzas, invite guests to chat casually with the writer of the month, breaking from the rigidity of the formal reading and Q&A. The selections have been varied in style and subject, with previous Swyft Salons held for South African short story writer Magogodi oaMphela Makhene's tales of Soweto, "Innards," and Viking editor Jenny Jackson's debut comedy about Brooklyn's 1%, "Pineapple Street."

The daughter of the late New Yorker writer Paul Brodeur, who died this past August in Hyannis, Mass., Adrienne Brodeur was the editor-in-chief of Zoetrope: All Story, a literary magazine she founded with Francis Ford Coppola.

In "Little Monsters," set during the lead-up to the divisive 2016 presidential election, Brodeur's intimately narrated novel, with its unfussy, languid prose, focuses on three candidates who make up the rarely-likable white, educated voter block. Adam Gardner is a cantankerous academic, an oceanology research scientist, and a product of the baby boom who finds fault with every breathing Millennial (with little mind that there are already two generations coming up behind these young professionals). As he struggles with his mental health, and the health care system, his two Gen X-cuspy children, who grew up motherless from a young age, struggle with each other. Ken is a hot-shot financier who has married into even more money and is eager to prove himself to his in-laws by being as "Art of the Deal" as possible. At the same time, his sister Abby is the classic, vaguely political Hillary voter. This sensitive artist has inherited her late mother's Cape Cod studio with a view towards Provincetown, but she can't foresee the political storm on the horizon.

Simon & Schuster

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Classifieds - February 26, 2026

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PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage. SHARON 407-620-7777.

The Salisbury Association’s Land Trust seeks part-time Land Steward: Responsibilities include monitoring easements and preserves, filing monitoring reports, documenting and reporting violations or encroachments, and recruiting and supervising volunteer monitors. The Steward will also execute preserve and trail stewardship according to Management Plans and manage contractor activity. Up to 10 hours per week, compensation commensurate with experience. Further details and requirements are available on request. To apply: Send cover letter, resume, and references to info@salisburyassociation.org. The Salisbury Association is an equal opportunity employer.

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To save birds, plant for caterpillars

Fireweed attracts the fabulous hummingbird sphinx moth.

Photo provided by Wild Seed Project

You must figure that, as rough as the cold weather has been for us, it’s worse for wildlife. Here, by the banks of the Housatonic, flocks of dark-eyed juncos, song sparrows, tufted titmice and black-capped chickadees have taken up residence in the boxwood — presumably because of its proximity to the breakfast bar. I no longer have a bird feeder after bears destroyed two versions and simply throw chili-flavored birdseed onto the snow twice a day. The tiny creatures from the boxwood are joined by blue jays, cardinals and a solitary flicker.

These birds will soon enough be nesting, and their babies will require a nonstop diet of caterpillars. This source of soft-bodied protein makes up more than 90 percent of native bird chicks’ diets, with each clutch consuming between 6,000 and 9,000 caterpillars before they fledge. That means we need a lot of caterpillars if we want our bird population to survive.

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Stephanie Haboush Plunkett and the home for American illustration

Stephanie Haboush Plunkett

L. Tomaino
"The field of illustration is very close to my heart"
— Stephanie Plunkett

For more than three decades, Stephanie Haboush Plunkett has worked to elevate illustration as a serious art form. As chief curator and Rockwell Center director at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, she has helped bring national and international attention to an art form long dismissed as merely commercial.

Her commitment to illustration is deeply personal. Plunkett grew up watching her father, Joseph Haboush, an illustrator and graphic designer, work late into the night in his home studio creating art and hand-lettered logos for package designs, toys and licensed-character products for the Walt Disney Co. and other clients.

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Free film screening and talk on end-of-life care
‘Come See Me in the Good Light’ is nominated for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards.
Provided

Craig Davis, co-founder and board chair of East Mountain House, an end-of-life care facility in Lakeville, will sponsor a March 5 screening of the documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light” at The Moviehouse in Millerton, followed by a discussion with attendees.

The film, which is nominated for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, follows the poet Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley as they are suddenly and unimaginably forced to navigate a terminal illness. The free screening invites audiences to gather not just for a film but for reflection on mortality, healing, connection and the ways communities support one another through difficult life transitions.

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