An incredibly rich assortment of individuals dwell in a cliffside house that provides a backdrop and serves as a catalyst in Leni Zumas's superb novel Wolf Bells. The House, as its myriad residents refer to it, is under the helm of Caz, a punk rocker turned all-ages retirement home leader. She's the great-granddaughter of the sea captain who built the place. Bits of history--of the house, of Caz's background--nest within this novel in which Zumas (Red Clocks; The Listeners) labels each scene with the room it takes place in, forgoing chapter or section names.
While much of the novel is concerned with the specific stories of those who've wound up in the House--such as Adeline, Caz's mother who carries around a stuffed porcupine, and Davey, a young veteran who likes guns and sleeping with Caz--the dramatic tension originates with Nola and her younger cousin, James, who is autistic. They arrive on the porch after running away from Child Protective Services. While Caz waits for James's mother to arrive, his presence prompts care and memories from Marika, a Holocaust survivor who had a brother similar to James, and mostly compassionate reactions from the rest of the house. Twined throughout the narrative of what will happen to these children is the long friendship (and feuds) between Caz and her former bandmate, Vara, a resident who acts as a nursing assistant for the community.
Zumas deftly renders the small and big dramas of group living, the idiosyncrasies of the old and young, and the loneliness possible even amid a crowd. --Nina Semczuk, writer, editor, and illustrator