There’s something magical about Western Massachusetts, with its natural beauty, earthy lifestyle, and connections to literary legends like Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and the recently deceased Jane Yolen. Now, with her new novel, The Emilys, Heather Abel adds another mythical story to the region.
The title of Abel’s book refers to a small group of people who suffer from the same debilitating illness, one that causes nausea and vomiting from exposure to sunlight. It is believed that the illness is passed from ticks to humans, and the only reprieve comes from staying indoors with dark shades drawn. Those inflicted with the disease are called “the Emilys” — named after Emily Dickinson, a renowned recluse from Western Massachusetts.
Abel teaches creative writing at Smith College in Northampton, MA, and much of her new novel is set in this idyllic college town. The story is told primarily through the viewpoint of Eve, a young mother who settled there during the COVID-19 pandemic after life became overwhelming with two young children in New York City. Her husband stayed back in New York City, and visits his family infrequently; Eve refers to her husband as Henry James as a nod to the famous author who also reluctantly spent some time in Western Massachusetts.
When Eve becomes reacquainted with her childhood best friend, Demeter, she learns that Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, is afflicted with this light-sensitive disease that deems one an “Emily.” Eve becomes determined to find a natural cure for Persephone and the other Emilys in the area. Thanks to the lush flora of the region, Eve doesn’t need to travel far to begin her search: “The Smith College Botanical Garden grew within Victorian domes, white painted struts and glass panes that shook with wind. Inside, though: life! Tendrils and leaves and trees and the green tang of soil.” It’s at the Botanical Garden where she meets a man named Will who assists Eve in her search for a cure.
While the pursuit of medicinal seeds provides the narrative arc of the story, Abel creates characters that also make this story a Jewish one — Jewishness becomes a point of both conflict and connection for the protagonist. For instance, Eve’s mother is a famous children’s author named Joan Yalen (an homage to beloved author Jane Yolen). Joan suffers from inherited Holocaust trauma, which subsequently complicates her relationship with Eve. Additionally, when Eve first meets Will at the Smith Botanical Garden, she can tell immediately that they have Judaism in common: “He smiled back. Already he made me feel like we were in on a joke. This one began like: An Ashkenazi Jew meets another Ashkenazi Jew in an enclosed garden.”
Although The Emilys is a love letter to Western Massachusetts, celebrating all of its quirks, charms, and reverence for nature, at its heart, the novel is a sweeping tale of motherhood in all its forms.
Susan Blumberg-Kason is the author of three books, including Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China, and co-editor of the anthology Hong Kong Noir. She is working on a biography of Golda Meir’s childhood and teenage years in Milwaukee and Denver.
