Summary
I. Family Pictures
We Were the Mulvaneys opens with Judd Mulvaney, the family's youngest member, serving as the occasional narrator throughout the novel. He introduces the Mulvaney family, who were socially prominent in their rural upstate New York community from 1955 to 1980. The father, Michael Sr., managed a thriving roofing business. The mother, Corinne, oversaw the household at High Point Farm, which was bustling with four children, pets, and farm animals, while also operating a small antiques business from one of the barns. The Mulvaney children—Mike Jr., Patrick, Marianne, and Judd—were popular and excelled at school. Mike Jr. was a football star, Marianne was a cheerleader, Patrick earned top academic honors, and Judd, born much later, was the cherished youngest child.
The initial chapters set the scene, with Judd expressing that he often felt excluded from the family's most vibrant moments, such as large parties and visits from fascinating friends, which contributed to the Mulvaneys being one of the most admired families in the Chautauqua Valley.
The narrative starts in the chapter named "Valentine's Day, 1976." After attending a Valentine's Day dance at Mt. Ephraim High School, Marianne spends the night at a friend's house and calls the next day for a ride home. Patrick picks her up during a snowstorm, and after returning home, she retreats to her room and takes a bath, concealing the fact that a senior boy, Zack Lundt, had gotten her drunk and raped her after the dance.
Marianne decides to keep the incident to herself because the family's happiness largely depends on the cheerful atmosphere created by Corinne. She blames herself, not Zack, for what happened. One weekday morning, another mother informs Corinne that she saw Marianne entering the Catholic Church, even though school was in session and the family was Protestant. Corinne retrieves Marianne from the church. On their way home, the car hits something in the road that appears to be a small animal, causing Marianne to become hysterical. Corinne takes her to the family doctor, who confirms that Marianne has been raped.
When Michael learns the news from Corinne, he rushes to the Lundt's house, bursts in, and attempts to strangle Zachary Lundt, but is stopped by the police, whom Corinne had called as he sped off. News of his attack on the boy and his father, who was Michael's friend, quickly spreads through town. When Marianne returns to school a few weeks later, rumors and jokes circulate, suggesting that she is promiscuous. In a fragile mental state, Marianne refuses to testify against Zachary Lundt, and a lawyer advises the Mulvaneys that there is little legal recourse available.
Michael Mulvaney begins drinking excessively, causing him to miss work. He starts frequenting the working-class bars he used to visit before his roofing business succeeded and the Mulvaneys gained social prominence. His old friends and family distance themselves from him, fueling his bitterness. One evening, an old acquaintance who runs a rundown inn and tavern, where the Mulvaneys used to go as a young married couple, calls Corinne. He informs her that she needs to come and collect her husband, who has been injured in a fight. Spending the night with him in one of the inn's rooms, Corinne realizes that her primary commitment is to her husband.
Shortly after, without consulting the rest of the family, the parents decide to send Marianne to live with a distant relative. They do this because Michael cannot endure the constant reminder of his helplessness regarding what happened to her.
II. "The Huntsman"
After Marianne leaves, the family gradually falls apart. Mike Jr. moves out,...
(This entire section contains 1969 words.)
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settling in town and working for Mulvaney Roofing. He drinks and associates with a reckless crowd, constantly clashing with his father. Following a car accident that he survives but which severely injures his fiancée, who is with him, Mike Jr. enlists in the Marines and is scarcely mentioned for the remainder of the novel.
Patrick departs for Cornell University a few months after Marianne is sent away. Before leaving, he delivers the valedictorian speech at Mt. Ephraim High School's graduation. Resentful because the boy who assaulted his sister is part of the school's popular crowd, Patrick devises a plan to release noxious fumes during the commencement ceremony, executing it so skillfully that no one suspects him. At college, Patrick is friendless. He rarely returns home during breaks, and when he does, he leaves quickly.
Despite Marianne's absence, Michael continues to drink and behave aggressively in public, causing his business to collapse. He hires lawyers to explore potential lawsuits for his grievances, forcing him to take out substantial loans to pay them.
Two years later, Marianne takes a bus to visit Patrick. It is 1978, and she has left the distant cousin's home to attend Kilburn State College, where she rarely attends classes. She is part of the Green Isle Co-Op, a community where coworkers grow food, bake bread, and sell their products in local stores when possible. Patrick is shocked at how different she looks from the cheerleader she once was: her hair is cut short, she appears malnourished, and at first, he mistakes her for a twelve-year-old boy.
One afternoon, Michael Sr. visits the Mt. Ephraim Country Club and spots a group of his old friends laughing together. Intoxicated, he pours a glass of beer over the head of a district judge, resulting in his arrest for assault and a newspaper article detailing the incident. This leads to further damage to Mulvaney Roofing and more legal fees.
Feeling like an outsider, Patrick attends a rock concert on campus. He feels uneasy in the crowd but notices a boy he mistakenly believes is Zachary Lundt from a distance. This gives Patrick the idea to kidnap and kill Lundt. He contacts Judd, instructing him to take a rifle from their home and meet him at a secret spot in the woods near their house. Patrick then calls the Lundt residence, pretending to be one of Zachary's old school friends, to find out when he will be home for Easter break. One evening, Patrick goes to a bar where Zachary is hanging out with friends and kidnaps him at gunpoint. He takes him deep into a nearby swamp, where Lundt nearly drowns before Patrick realizes he doesn't want to kill his enemy. Patrick pulls him from the mud, saving his life, then leaves Lundt stranded in the wilderness.
III. "The Pilgrim"
Marianne dedicates herself to her work at the Green Isle Co-Op, hoping that one day her mother will call to say her father wants her to come back to High Point Farm. Although she is admired and respected by her colleagues, she keeps her distance emotionally and often cries when alone. When the director's assistant departs, the director recognizes Marianne's potential and promotes her, giving her more responsibilities. Like many young women at the co-op, Marianne has a crush on Abelove, the director, and feels honored to work closely with him.
Upon learning of her grandmother's passing, Marianne decides to attend the funeral to reconnect with her family. A shy co-op member, Hewie Miner, offers to drive her across the state to the town where Corinne grew up. After several hours of travel, Marianne finds herself unable to enter the chapel; she watches from outside, seeing her mother and Judd but neither of her other brothers nor her father. On the way back, she asks Hewie to drive through Mt. Ephraim, past the Mulvaney Roofing office, through her childhood streets, and past High Point Farm, realizing how distant she has become from it all.
Following her long day of travel, Abelove approaches Marianne to inquire if she and Hewie are romantically involved. Marianne assures him they are not, prompting Abelove to offer her a more prestigious role at the Green Isle Co-op as associate director. While describing how much everyone at the co-op admires her, Abelove admits that he has developed feelings for her as well. Marianne decides to leave, saying she needs time to consider his confession. That evening, she quietly packs her belongings and departs from the Green Isle Co-op—her home and passion for several years—without bidding farewell to anyone.
IV. Hard Reckoning
In the spring of 1980, Judd completes his junior year of high school in a new town. The declining Mulvaney Roofing business and escalating legal expenses force the family to sell High Point Farm and relocate to nearby Marsina. Michael Sr. is frequently intoxicated and irritable, often absent from home, leaving Corinne to handle the sale and purchase of their homes. Michael's attempts to revive the roofing business in their new location prove unsuccessful. The family occasionally hears from Mike Jr., Patrick, and Marianne.
Marianne finds herself in Spartansburg, serving as a companion to an older writer in a wheelchair, Penelope Hagström. Miss Hagström holds Marianne's intelligence in high regard and entrusts her with managing her household affairs.
One evening, Michael returns home late and intoxicated, and is aggressive towards Corinne, prompting Judd to intervene. The following day, Judd decides to move out and secures his own apartment.
The roofing business eventually goes bankrupt, leading to the sale of all the family's remaining assets, including their new home. With the family's home dissolved, Michael and Corinne part ways. Michael moves through a series of smaller apartments and rented rooms, taking on jobs he cannot retain due to his drinking, inability to perform physical labor, and unwillingness to take orders from individuals who used to be his employees.
In 1988, Corinne reaches out to Marianne, now twenty-nine, to inform her that her father is dying and has requested to see her. Marianne had left Miss Hagström several years prior when the older woman offered her more responsibilities. She relocated to a small town, rented a room, and began working at a grocery store. One day, when her cat Muffin, the last reminder of her life at High Point Farm, became ill, she rushed him to a local animal hospital run by Dr. Whittaker West. His dedication had earned the hospital and shelter a stellar reputation nationwide. Marianne soon moved into the expansive mansion that housed the shelter and became Dr. West's assistant. When it was time to put Muffin to rest, Dr. West consoled Marianne and confessed his love for her.
In Rochester, where Michael Mulvaney has been taken, Judd and Corinne assert that he has called out Marianne's name. However, he does not appear to recognize her or anyone else around him. To Corinne, it sounds like he has uttered his older sister's name, Marian. Sadly, he passes away, and Mike Jr. returns to help the family scatter his father's ashes on a hill overlooking High Point Farm.
Epilogue: Reunion - Fourth of July 1993
The entire Mulvaney family is invited to a Fourth of July gathering at a farm purchased by Corinne and her friend, Sable Mills. They have transformed it into a thriving antique shop. Though it may not be as grand as High Point Farm, the property is spacious enough for the two women and is located near a creek that once flowed past the old family estate, approximately eighteen miles away. Judd is now the editor of a small newspaper, the Chautauqua Falls Journal. Marianne has married Whit West, and they have a young son together. Mike Jr., a civil engineer living in Wilmington, Delaware, has a wife and two children, with another on the way. Patrick, who hasn't returned since the night he kidnapped Zachary Lundt, has traveled from California on a motorcycle with his girlfriend, displaying a completely different persona than the studious introvert he was when he left. In total, twenty-seven people have gathered at Corinne Mulvaney's home, allowing her children to reconnect with each other, meet their extended family, and become acquainted with their mother's friends.
