Good Reads  /  Community Library Notes
Harmony - Carolyn Parkhurst
Review by Priscilla Comen

“Harmony” by Carolyn Parkhurst is a memorable novel following three families that go to live at Camp Harmony in order to help their children who may be autistic. The camp is in New Hampshire and the protagonist Alexandra, her husband Josh, and two daughters have moved there from their home in Washington DC. They participate in every event and task that the director, Scott Bean, decides upon, from barbecues to swimming together in the lake, to planting gardens for food. They clean the cabins and the kitchen.
    Author Parkhurst pairs a sense of tension with tender humanity as the characters develop. Chapters alternate between the mother, Alexandra, and Iris, the younger sister of Tilly, who may be in the spectrum of autism. Tilly uses obscenities in public and often screams when she doesn’t get her way. Author Parkhurst easily gives us the voice of the younger sister as she describes their time at the camp. When Josh finds that director Scott has collected all their car keys so they can’t leave without permission, Josh gets a funny feeling of imprisonment. 
    Author Parkhurst pieces together the past through flashbacks as she deals with the emotional present. Iris designs the sign that announces Camp Harmony to passersby, and Scott dictates a list of rules he abbreviates as SPARK. When the first guest campers arrive (three families and only for one week), Iris shows the Russell kids around the grounds, and pretends they’re at a hotel. Author Parkhurst includes a section on vaccination causing autism, but doesn’t give any conclusions. 
    One of Iris’ friends is Candy, whose father comes to the camp and kidnaps her. He takes her and Iris to the beach where they play the games and eat cotton candy. Candy’s father doesn’t think Camp Harmony is a good place and thinks Scott Bean is a “nut case.” He takes his daughter away and Iris is driven back to the camp. The ensuing publicity about the camp being a cult devastates Scott. How does he handle this? Does Alexandra continue this experiment in living with her daughters? Is it healthy to want to live without technology and the outside world? 
    Find this provocative book on the new fiction shelf of your community library.