Lark and Termite

Written by Jayne Anne Phillips

Narrated by James Yaegashi

A rich, many-layered novel from one of our major writers, her first in nine years. Set in the 1950s in West Virginia and Korea, it is a story of the power of loss and love, the echoing ramifications of war, family secrets, dreams and ghosts, and the unseen, almost magical bonds that unite and sustain us. At its center: Lark and her brother, Termite, a child unable to walk and talk but full of radiance; their mother, Lola; their aunt, Nonie, who raises them; and Termite's father, Corporal Robert Leavitt, who finds himself caught up in the chaotic early months of the Korean War. Told with enormous imagination and deep feeling, the novel invites us into the hearts and thoughts of each of the leading characters; even into Termite's intricate, shuttered consciousness. We are with Leavitt, trapped by friendly fire. We see Lark's hopes for herself and Termite, and how she makes them happen. We learn of Lola's love for her soldier husband and children, and unravel the mystery of her relationship with Nonie. We discover the lasting connections between past and future on the night the town experiences an overwhelming flood, and we follow Lark and Termite as their lives are changed forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 20, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440708572

Jayne Anne Phillips

Jayne Anne Phillips is the author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel Night Watch, Lark and Termite, Motherkind, Shelter, and Machine Dreams, and the widely anthologized collections of stories, Fast Lanes and Black Tickets. A National Book Award and National Book Critic’s Circle Award finalist, Phillips is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Bunting Fellowship, the Sue Kaufman Prize, and an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. She is Distinguished Professor of English and Director of the MFA Program at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey, where she established The Writers At Newark Reading Series. Information, essays and text source photographs on her fiction can be viewed at JayneAnnePhillips.com.

Reviews for Lark and Termite

[donna828 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lark is a 17-year-old with a very mature acceptance of a younger half-brother who is unable to walk or talk. She treats him with dignity and is able to see beneath the surface of the things he can't do to the things that he can do. Termite is so named because he lives inside himself, much like a termite in a wall. His thoughts are fascinating with wonderful ways to describe sounds and smells. He is content with his world and Lark is content to care for him as he is the connection to their shared mother.This memorable story is told through multiple voices by characters that you can care about. There is a touch of the mystical while still being very much rooted in reality. There are two settings nine years apart bookending the decade of the 1950's. Harrowing war scenes in Korea alternate with life in small-town West Virginia that are blended together by a love unconstrained by the boundaries of time and place. I was mesmerized by the haunting and brilliant prose of Jayne Ann Phillips and am happy to give this book the highest rating.

[kymmac · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So happy to finally read this and find that I was right about loving this author. I still remember hearing her read in Ptown with Dana a hundred years ago. I love that this was an odd book, oddly narrated, inconclusive, but just conclusive and elusive enough. Surely because of Termite, all I could think of was The Sound and the Fury, but in a good way, in a female way. The whisps of cloud, ghosts and otherworldly knowledge just made me love it even more. Go, Jayne Anne!!!

[rdra1962 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a difficult book to get into, and it challenges the reader to the very end, but it is really worth the effort. A fascinating story, told from different characters perspectives, and yet even though the stories may get repeated, there is much discrepancies as to what is going on! Reviewers get so many details wrong that you wonder if they really read the book, or just skimmed it. You cannot skim this book! It is all in the details! A beautiful book, this writer can use words like few others!

[mkunruh-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book, at times, reminded me of Robinson's Housekeeping (and not just because of the flood); its not as strong a novel, but it is as ambitious. Termite's voice doesn't work - she uses him to fill in narrative holes and subverts his voice as a result. There is also a deus ex machina 'twist' at the end that I didn't like - I liked where she was going, just not how she got there. All that said I really enjoyed reading this book (thus the 4 stars) and would happily recommend the book to others, and I will get a print copy (read it in e form) for my shelves.

The final chapter was lovely too.

[dinci-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The plot is s set during the 1950s in Virginia and Korea. It is a story about love, war, family secrets. The story is divided into two parallel four-day periods — July 26-28 and a coda on July 31 — set nine years apart and separated by thousands of miles but deeply connected.
Lark and Termite are main characters. She is 17-year old girl who take care about her brother Termit who is unable to walk and talk.
Magic book.

[cindyb29 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Read about 100 pages and finally gave up. Way too repetitive and very boring. Told in several different voices and I just couldn't get into it. I have too many other books to read to waste time on this one.

[hobbitprincess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel is so multi-faceted, it's hard to write much about without giving away the story line too much. The setting changes during the course of the book, but the main characters, Lark and her brother nicknamed Termite, are in a small town in West Virginia. What touched me most was the relationship between the two siblings plus with their aunt Nonie, who is raising the pair. Termite is disabled, and his story brought to mind the students I teach, and it made me wonder what they might be thinking. The book is complex but interesting, with the theme of family love underlying it all.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Published 2009
Audio, read by James Yaegashi, Cynthia Darlow, Kate Forbes.
4 stars
This review may have some spoilers
I was a little leery of this book but found it to be good. The setting is the early fifties and the Korean War. It is the story of two children, Lark and Termite. Both are children of Lola. Termite is a child with disabilities. He has hydrocephaly and spinal bifida and his legs are right. There is magical aspect to this story. It is also a story of how war doesn’t just affect the soldier but the wounds affect others for long periods. There are three epigraphs in the beginning. The one from The Sound and the Fury reflects this; "Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to a man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools." The author uses four parts with various multiple points of view and the reader travels back and forth from Korea and the father of Termite to West Virginia with segments from Lola, Nonie, Lark and even Termite which does remind you a little of Faulkner. ***spoilers****Termite’s birth corresponds with the wounds of the father in Korea. I had the feeling that the wounds of the father are displayed in the disability of the son; the spine, the legs. There is also a parallel between the Korean boy and his sister. The experience of sound is a communication shared by the father and his son. ****spoiler end***. This was a well written book and I recommend it to those that enjoy Faulkner and magical realism that isn’t too excessive.

[lisapeet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really tightly crafted and structured, like a piece of classical music. Aside from the fact that it was good, compelling reading, the whole infrastructure of it was interesting to follow. With, yes, a major deus ex machina, but Phillips isn't asking us to believe he was anything other than that, so it managed not to grate. Plus he had his counterpart -- all characters were carefully but not heavy-handedly twinned -- so there was a place for him. And the language was terrific. She's so controlled.

[mabroms-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Incredibly delicate, intricate prose. Must be read slowly to savor. Full of beautiful treatments of senses, feelings and consciousness at various stages of life.

[teenielee · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had heard good things about this book but when I read it, it was just blah.

[turtlesleap · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lark is a young girl being raised by her aunt in a amall town in West Virginia in the 1950's. She is responsible for the care of her disabled younger half-brother, Termite. She knows little about her family history; only that her mother is gone and that Termite's father died in Korea. Of her own father, she has no knowledge at all. As the novel unfolds, the stories weave in and out of one another and converge bit by bit. We learn about Aunt Nonnie's history and why she was so willing to take on responsibility for her sister's two children, about Nonnie's own history, about Lark's secret life and relationships. Phillips successfully uses several voices to tell her story and often takes the reader out of the main time line the novel is following. She is adept and all this is done without any sense of dislocation in the story. There are surprises here, and Phillips has done a very nice job of unveiling these mysteries here and there throughout the story without giving away the whole picture. This is a lovely book, polished and skillfully written.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Robert Leavitt, Lark, Termite, and Nonie are the four characters at the heart of this book. Leavitt is a soldier in the Korean War, and his portions are set in 1950. Termite is his son; Lark is Termite's half-sister, with another father. Nonie is their aunt, who takes care of both of them, and their story is set in 1959. The narration follows only a few days in July, in different years, seen through each of these characters' eyes.This story received a lot of praise when it first came out in 2009, and was even a National Book Award finalist, but I never really connected with it. The writing is beautiful, and is more central than a plot. Termite is severely disabled, and the parts of the story from his perspective were especially crafted rather than straightforward narration. The tone is melancholy, as we're surrounded by unhappy people living out their daily lives, leaving me feeling unsettled and a little depressed in the end.

[citizenjoyce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was nominated for a National Book Award, and has lots of very intelligent, creative people to praise it, but I'm not so eager to join in. The style is disjointed, and the people are all damaged and determined to continue the cycle. A mother gives her 9 year old abandoned daughter a handicapped baby to look after the rest of her life, thus doing her best to insure that she will stay trapped in the caregiver role or eventually rage against it as she did. And the girl buys it wholeheartedly. Isn't the saying, "Life is a veil of tears"? Well, everyone in this book makes sure that veil doesn't get lifted too far. The more I think about it, the more crushing it seems. I guess I'm just not mystical enough to see the virtue in a child's leaving school at the age of 12 so that she can sporadically take a secretarial course that will allow her to support herself and her ward - all the while trailing sniffing men behind her. The book also says something about the tyranny of the weak. Termite is completely self centered because of a birth defect. Everyone, especially Lark, caters to him and tries to show their love by giving him things to stimulate his senses. In the mean time, Lark gives up her education and socialization outside of her confining community. Gladdy, Charlie's mother, is just as self centered - why we never learn, but she spends the book trying to make people's lives revolve around her the way Termite naturally has lives revolving around him. What is the point for either one? Termite is always going to be minimally responsive and thus provoke others to read into him their own perceptions, kind of like John Singer in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Gladdy, in her aggression, is able to thwart the happiness of others but no one ever seems to try to understand her inner being. Well, I guess I miss the point of the novel, but many of the pieces give much impetus to conversation.

[juli1357 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Although I enjoyed "Machine Dreams", I found "Lark and Termite" disappointing. If I hadn't been reading it for a book club, I probably would not have finished it. Phillips writes well, but the book has little plot and there are large portions of the book where nothing much happens, then too much happens at the end. I'm not normally one to critique whether or not what happens in a book is believable, but I found several parts of this book to be completely unrealistic. For example, one of the characters lingers for days with multiple untreated gunshot wounds. One only has to have the most basic knowledge of human anatomy to know that's not possible. Another character rides a motorcycle into a moving train, without any ill effect to himself, the person he drives into or his motorcycle. There are sex scenes involving Lark at the ages of 11 and 17 that are shocking, not only because they seem out of character, but because the time period. Even by today's standards, the sexual acts Lark engages in would be considered way beyond her years. And there is an albino character, who as it turns out, doesn't even really exist. I also disliked the use of parallel lives. It might have worked in another book, but not in this one.

[opinionated_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just thought I'd add a positive review in the light of all the negative ones below. I'd read excerpts from this book in various editions of Granta, and its clear Ms Philips has worked on it for a long time. I found it very engaging, loved the voice of Lark and her love for and understanding of her brother, the only real connection to her mother who she, and we, only really glimpse in shadows, through the prejudiced view of others. I also loved the voice of Nonie and her determination to hold her bitsy family together. The book reminded me of the French film "Life is a long quiet river" - although without the humour. Its true that nothing much happens, but in most lives nothing much does after all. Its tone that matters here, tone and characterisation and I found it deeply compelling.The bits that didn't quite gel where the scenes in Korea. I didn't know about the No Gun Ri massacre, and there is certainly a mighty work of fiction to be written about this and other elements of the Korean war. But these episodes felt unconnected to the main storyline and didn't seem to really inform the fate of any of the other characters in anything other than a very general sense.But generally, really enjoyed it. Read Jayne Anne Phillips short story collections "Black Tickets" and "Machine Dreams". Also very very good

[valerie2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As other reviewers have noted, I found this a fairly difficult book to get into and a rather slow going read. Narrated by a number of different voices, "Lark and Termite" gradually reveals the cicumstances as to why these two children - one severely disabled - come to be living with their Aunt Nonie, rather than their natural mother Lola. Overall, the characters did not ring particularly true for me, and I just didn't feel the "heart" within the story - and for a book predominantly about relationships, and the devastating events that can sometimes shape our lives, you need to need to be able to feel the heart. While I would try another book by this author I won't be recommending Lark and Termite to others - it was just OK.

[aramissciant · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great story told from the point of view of various of the protagonists. Part war story, part coming of age story, what will stay with me most of all is the story of that kind of binding love that ties people no matter what. It has a bit of mystical elements but never felt heavy-handed.

[debs4jc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Told from three points of view, this story centers around Lark, a 17 year old girl being raised by her aunt. Lark's world centers around Termite, her disabled half-brother who she understands better than anyone. They live with their aunt and know very little about their mother Lola, though they do know that Termite's father was a soldier in the Korean war and was killed there. Part of the book tells his story, part of it tells the story of Nonnie--their aunt, and part of it is even told by Termite but to me the main character was Lark. She show incredible strength in the face of all sorts of odds to "manage" so that she and her brother will stay together and make a life for themselves. This was a very interesting listen, with multiple narrators which helped when the book switched from one character telling the story to another. I really started to care about what would happen to Lark and was pleased with the ending. This one is for those that like stories of people overcoming adversity through strength of character.

[mrstreme · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Allow me to start this review with a confession. I didn't finish Lark and Termite. I tried to, but after reaching the half-way point, I decided to skim my way to the end. Unfortunately, and despite high hopes, I just could not get into this book. After reading other book reviews, I am glad to know I wasn't the only one.Lark and Termite is full of beautiful language and prose. I could never say that Jayne Anne Phillips can't write, because she can, but I think what was missing from this book was the story. For me, it takes more than lyrical language to tell a story - you need something to say, not just the words to utter.There was promise with the characters - Lark, a teenage girl who took care of her handicapped younger brother, Termite. Some of the chapters were told by them , but even their perspectives couldn't help me feel invested in these characters. Nor did I feel much for young Bobby McLeavitt, who was fighting in Korea. I thought I would get wrapped up into their tales, but Phillips just didn't evoke any connection from me for her characters.So, after skimming to the end, I am officially done with Lark and Termite - and ready to move on to other stories.

[bellettres · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hard book to get into. Many things I didn't understand. Our book group will be discussing it in a few days, or I probably would not have persevered. Parallel stories, ambiguous (to me) events, and a very dense writing style added to the slowness of the read. Still, it was not a waste of time, and I suspect that I will be thinking about this story for weeks to come.

[punxsygal · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It’s July 1950 and Robert Leavitt lies dying in a cave in South Korea tended by a young Korean woman with a small child. It is, also, July 1959 in Winfield, West Virginia. Lark, a young girl, and her brother, Termite, live with their Aunt Nonie. The book is filled with character descriptions, metaphors, symbols and an intertwining of the two tales, but with very little plot. This book was my first experience with a new face-to-face book club. When I attended I was forty pages shy of the ending of what I considered to be an agonizingly slow book. There was a lot of discussion of what went on and the symbolism to be found. Of the fifteen members of the club, only one liked the book. Oh, maybe this is the club for me after all.

[joannemepham29_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I looked forward to this book, and I am so sad to say I did not enjoy it at all. I thought the writing was wonderful, and poetic, but I could have cared less about the story, or the characters, especially Termite. I am not sure why, but I just could not get into the story, though I admired the prose and writing throughout.

[berly_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Okay. So here is why I am not a fan of Lark and Termite, by Jayne Anne Phillips. Although I really appreciated the unbounded love everyone had for Termite, who is mentally challenged, and the language was beautiful, that was about it. It seemed to me that no one in this book was living up to their full potential. I found the sexual scenes with Lark jarring. I did not enjoy seeing the same incidents through multiple people's eyes. There was no need for that one character to turn out to be a ghost (it actually really ticked me off!) and I felt like the dying wishes of Corporal Robert Leavitt uttered as he mystically attends the birth of his son from afar caused Termite's lifelong isolation: "Look inside, he tells his son, inside is where you are...Don't look, only listen...Stop screaming...They'll find you. Stay still. Listen." How sad to wish that on your son? In addition, it was all a mad jumble of messed up relationships. Without naming too many names, for those of you who have not read it, everyone had a role that wasn't quite right or fully realized: the aunt served as the mother; the friend turned out to be the father; both the son and the father (different father) loved the girl in a sexual way (so wrong!); Lark was more a mother than a sister; and Charlie's mom actually was a monster. Ugh!! I finished this book depressed, angry and somehow feeling dirty. Enough about this book. I'd give it less, but I think it will still be one of those memorable book, so 3 Stars.

[tammathau · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I struggled through the first chapter of this book. The story is told from different characters viewpoints. I had a hard time connecting with Termite's father's story(the first chapter). However, once past the first chapter, I had a hard time putting the book down.

[fig2_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lark and Termite are two characters that will invade you. Lark, a young woman embarking on adulthood, has a sense of self for which most people can only dream. Termite, her younger brother, has a form of autism, yet his inner world is rich, layered and lush. The story of their parents slowly unravels as the novel progresses. Mostly set in a small southern town, Lark & Termite somehow transcends the average "southern lit" novel, by which I mean it becomes a more mainstream story. One character's experience in the Korean War is disturbing, yet fascinating, and may contribute to that transcendence.When Lark faces a crisis alone, she is heartbreaking as she takes on an adult role that is well beyond her years. At the heart of the story is her relationship with Termite, which is a poignant, gorgeous, yet ordinary thing that speaks loudly of real life.Truly wonderful!

[robindawson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Given the title I was expecting a family story – to my surprise it opens with a soldier beating an untidy retreat in the Korean war in 1950 ( a war rarely mentioned in fiction). He is wounded and dies. With a touch of magical realism the time of his death coincides with the moment his wife gives birth (to Termite) back in the States. The second and dominant strand of the story takes place over six days in West Virginia in 1959.Lark is a 17 year old girl being raised by her Aunt Nonie. Termite is her 9 year old half brother who cannot walk or talk (?autism?). Their mother Lola, had long ago handed the children into the care of her sister Nonie. As the storm waters sweep through the township the past history of this household is gradually revealed. Strengthened by whay she has learned Lark is able to take wing (!) and flee to ensure Termite's freedom.The writing is beautiful and poetic. It’s also quite punchy and vigourous – short, tight sentences with sharp, original imagery. To get into the mind of Termite and write that 'voice' must have been very difficult. The only negative for me was the time it took that soldier to die - it just went on and on!. Apart from that I highly recommend this book.

[smithish_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book, wonderful imagery.

[mojomomma_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't enjoy this book until I got half way through it and decided I really needed to read this in one long session. Then I was able to keep the plot in mind as it is told from the perspectives of four characters. Lark and Termite are half-siblings. Although we are never told the exact diagnosis, Termite is a special needs child (spina bifida?) and Lark is a 17-year-old who takes care of them. Both children were given up by their mother and placed in the care of her sister, Nonie. As the story takes place in West Virginia during the last few days of July in 1959, we also read of Termite's father experiences in the Korean War during those same dates in 1950. Sgt. Leavitt's death exactly corresponds with Termite's birth back in the states and Termite himself is foreshadowed by the presence of a Korean boy with similar issues as Termite, who sits with Sgt. Leavitt has he dies in the tunnels of No Gun Ri. A huge flood and the suscipicious death of Nonie's boyfriend's mother convince Lark to take Termite away so that the social workers cannot take Termite away from her.

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lark is a 17 year old girl being raised by her Aunt Nonie. Termite is her 9 year old half brother who cannot walk or talk. These three characters provide most of the narrative voice of this beautiful story that takes place over three days in 1959 in a small town in America.Interspersed with their stories is the 1950 story of Termite's father, a young soldier fighting (and dieing) in the Korean war.Through these voices, with a final chapter narrated by Lark and Termite's mother, Lola, we learn the story of an extraordinary family -- including those very close friends, lovers and neighbours -- bound by love, and by acceptance of people for who they are.The writing is simply beautiful and poetic. There are linkages among characters and across time periods that are slowly revealed -- that are almost mystical, but still make sense. The characters are so well drawn, with an almost photographic realness. I think it is the combination of the lyrical mysticism and hard edge reality that has left me contemplating this book and unable to give it away. This is a keeper -- I will read it again.