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A review by yangyvonne
Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara
4.0
In pre-WWII MA, Desdemona Hart finds herself married to Asa Spaulding and watching her father die. After his death, she begins to question what has happened to her life and wants to be back in NYC where her art can be appreciated. Her town, Cascade is being considered for demolition and this sets off a chain of events that propel her life in a different direction. She has an affair with a Jewish artist and dreams of escaping her marriage for him. Events don't turn out that way and although she does leave Asa, and finds success in New York, he marries Ruth and she loses touch with him for 12 years. In 1947, her father's theater is finally reopened and Jasper comes, letting her know he has pined for her, but now Dez is married, to the man who bought the theater and they realize they can never be together.
This is literally one of the saddest stories ever. Dez gave up her career and freedom to ensure that her father would be taken care of, she sacrificed for Asa, for Jasper, for everyone and even when she had something go her way, it would usually have a catch or be short-lived. You root for her to get away from Asa, to be with Jasper, to have success as an artist, and are met with twist after twist of more disappointment. I like that she was able to leave Asa and stay on her own even after she learned of Ruth and the baby. It also made sense that Ruth hid the second letter. What really was the most shocking is that her father lied about selling his first folio. So, in the end, she sacrificed all for him, while he sacrificed nothing for her. Her whole existence was unrequited/unreturned love.
This is literally one of the saddest stories ever. Dez gave up her career and freedom to ensure that her father would be taken care of, she sacrificed for Asa, for Jasper, for everyone and even when she had something go her way, it would usually have a catch or be short-lived. You root for her to get away from Asa, to be with Jasper, to have success as an artist, and are met with twist after twist of more disappointment. I like that she was able to leave Asa and stay on her own even after she learned of Ruth and the baby. It also made sense that Ruth hid the second letter. What really was the most shocking is that her father lied about selling his first folio. So, in the end, she sacrificed all for him, while he sacrificed nothing for her. Her whole existence was unrequited/unreturned love.