March 27, 2006
Rattled features more than one snake in the grass
Heather Peters wanted all the trappings of exurban New Jersey bliss -- a 5,000-square-foot McMansion, a perfectly manicured lawn and a driveway wide enough to park her Land Rover.
So when she and her lawyer husband and troublesome young son move into the newly constructed Galapagos Estates, she believes her dream has been realized.
Local farmer Harlan White, on the other hand, detests Heather and all the other new people who are "ruining everything with their great big ugly houses."
But that doesn't stop him from taking a job as the Peters' handyman, something they need because they can't do anything for themselves.
Heather and Harlan clash just pages into "Rattled," Debra Galant's humorous debut novel.
"Rattled" is another in a long line of books that explore Americans' desire to acquire. In Galant's tale, the American Dream involves big houses and wide open spaces in exurbia, that affluent region where suburbs meet countryside.
Galant, who wrote commentary about suburban life for the New York Times for five years, is a keen observer with biting wit. She pokes fun at many facets of exurbia, but is evenhanded in her ridicule.
"Rattled" uncoils when Heather spots a timber rattlesnake lounging on her patio. She shrieks and screams until Harlan kills it with a Ming vase and croquet mallet. But rattlesnakes are an endangered species and killing them is a crime.
The crime is soon discovered, but Heather allows a fumbling local reporter to believe she was the one who snuffed out the snake. Her fib balloons and hits the national media, and suddenly Heather is being heralded for her bravery. She's being whisked off to the "Today" show and gets calls from Oprah's producer. Her pink Chanel suit looks perfect in the glow of the media spotlight.
But her alleged act also enrages animal-rights activists, who stage protests outside her home. Meanwhile, she sparks controversy among the competitive mothers at her son's school and raises the ire of her homeowners' committee.
When Heather discovers that her picture-perfect house was built -- illegally -- on an endangered rattlesnake habitat, she hatches a plan to get even with her venomous neighbors and the greedy developer. For his part, Harlan manages to make peace with the shifting landscape.
Galant weaves several story lines together with clever transitions, and her tale gathers momentum with each page.
At times, her characters seem a bit stereotypical. For example, nature activist Agnes Sebastian is a vegetarian who lives alone with her cat, drives a lime-green VW Beetle, and listens to public radio. But overall, the story gives voice to a colorful and engaging cast -- all of whom possess qualities that are both loathsome and endearing.
They're all helplessly human and a reader can't help but laugh.
ERIN MADIGAN
