Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons

Thayer Wentworth is devastated when her father and grandfather drive off the side of Burnt Mountain on their way home from a visit to a summer camp. She is so unhappy that her grandmother finally sends her to summer camp in the North Carolina mountains. Thayer thrives there. In her last year, when she is seventeen, she meets the love of her life and they plan to marry. However, tragedy ensues at the hand of Thayer's mother. Off to college, Thayer meets and marries an Irish college professor. Aengus teaches Irish folklore and has a magical gift of storytelling. He eventually begins visiting a boys camp on Burnt Mountain to tell stories, and is ensnared in a magical web that leads to his downfall.

Siddons injects a bit of magical realism into her usual story of Southern pretentions and the harm they cause. The mother's betrayal of her daughter represents the harm that can be done when parents insist that children conform to a certain norm. Thayer manages to overcome her tragic disappointment in the end, but goes almost to hell and back in doing so.

Happy Reading !~