The Discontent of Mary Wenger

Review\nThe Discontent of Mary Wenger is a work of historical fiction that follows Mary Wenger's pursuit of happiness in becoming a middle-class housewife and mother. Born in 1922 in a Pennsylvania coal-mining town, Mary is living at the cusp of post-war social changes that will affect her status and opportunities as a female.\nWhether her efforts lie in feminist ideas or traditional women's roles, Mary is constantly thwarted and disappointed in her objectives and their incarnation under a shifting social structure.\nHer discontent, in turn, affects her family as she strives to reinvent her dreams only to find that her legacy of longing passes equal vision and frustration to the next generation.\nThe origins of that restless spirit lie in her childhood, and are presented in the opening lines of the novel: "Since I was a young girl, I have always believed that death is stalking me. It lurks and hovers in the dark recesses of my mind like a virus waiting to strike and destroy when I least expect it."\nMary believes she knows what is best, not only for herself, but for those around her. She finds out otherwise as she navigates new territory to find all of her dreams being put to the test of time.\nThe Discontent of Mary Wenger is a work of historical fiction, but it's also a thought-provoking psychological profile of a daughter of immigrants who forges her own new paths in life.\nRobert Tucker is especially adept at employing the first person to capture Mary's background, perspective, philosophy about life, and the tumultuous undercurrents of feminism and tradition that buffet her evolution and her family's structure.\nHe also is particularly astute in how he captures Mary's ideals and reactions to the cultural and social norms of her life: "Other than an occasional hug from my Dad, I had never been held so closely by a man...The romantic waves of the music washing over us made me wonder if I were falling in love."\nTucker brings to life the social milieu Mary traverses, blending historical references with personal observations to bring Mary's entire world to life; not just her emotional forays into it.\nAs she raises her family and "makes every effort to support and be involved," Mary continues to evolve in response to her childhood lessons, her adult convictions, and the social winds of change that buffet them all.\nThe result is a fictional memoir based on facts that brings to life one woman's ongoing evolution as America changes.\nThe Discontent of Mary Wenger's vivid recollections of the past make it a winning choice for not just historical novel readers, but women's fiction and literature audiences. Groups interested in how women absorb social changes which contrast and sometimes collide with their upbringing and moral compass will find it gives much fodder for discussion and debate.
(Diane Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review)\nThe Discontent of Mary Wenger, Paper Dolls, Book 1 by Robert Tucker is a mellow and thoroughly engaging story that narrates with humor and affection the life of Mary Wenger and the changing American scene of the early 1900s. Tucker gives the reader a vivid glimpse of the day-to-day life of the protagonist, Mary, as she tells of her life and of those around her.\nThe narrative begins when Mary experiences the loss of her baby sister and then quickly delves into the background of her very conservative parents. The guilt her parents felt over the loss of the baby was the impetus that brought them to become Jehovah's Witnesses. But, unfortunately, their adherence to this religion alienated them from their neighbors, who were predominantly Catholic and Lutheran. She tells of how difficult her mother's life was as a child and the mistreatment she endured and finally escaped by running away.\nMary's parents were very protective of her and her brother, John, and discouraged them from having relations with the opposite sex. After discovering a wet spot on John's sheets, they even began to check his bed