The Lives Of Edie Pritchard by Larry Watson

Edie Pritchard grows up in a small town in Montana.  She is considered smart and intelligent by those around her and fun-loving.  As the novel opens, she is working as a teller in a bank as there aren't many career jobs for women in the sixties.  The novel is broken into three distinct parts, Edie in her twenties, in her forties and in her sixties. 

Edit marries young.  She is married to Dean Linderman.  Dean is a twin and his brother Roy has always been the outgoing one, while Dean is more introverted.  Roy is a salesman, Dean is a mechanic.  Dean can't believe that Edie chose him and wonders if she made a mistake choosing him over Roy.  Both men want Edie and now, even though Dean is married to her, he spends his days becoming more and more jealous of Roy and what he imagines Edie might feel for him.  When Edie and Roy go on an errand that ends in a disaster, it precipitates Edie's decision that this life might not be for her.

In her second stage, Edie has moved away and is now married to Gary Dunn.  Dunn is wealthy and is determined to control all around him, including Edie.  When she gets a call from Roy asking her to return to her first home to visit with Dean, who is sick, Gary immediately says no.  Edie decides that she will determine where and when she goes places and takes off with her daughter.  Dunn follows her and there is a scene that comes from the men around her trying to control her.

Finally, in the last stage, Edie is now in her sixties and on her own.  She has moved back to her hometown and lives quietly in an apartment, working and having a few friends.  Her life is turned around when her granddaughter decides to visit out of the blue.  She brings her boyfriend and the boyfriend's brother and it's clear that these men are trouble.  They are the kind who drift from town to town, scheming get rich quick schemes and not too careful to follow the law.  The granddaughter leaves with them but then contacts Edie wanting her to come find her and take her back.  When Edie does, she is forced into a confrontation with the brother who is determined to keep his brother's girlfriend with them. 

This is an interesting novel from successful novelist Larry Watson.  As with other novels, he writes about small town life, about people who live lives of quiet desperation and who attempt to find happiness in their surroundings.  Edie spends her life trying to throw off the need of men to control her life; her decisions and her happiness.  Whether the control is overt or convert, it exists in every male relationship she encounters and the reader is left wondering if Watson sees this as a given in male-female encounter.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.