By James Carpenter
Southern Gothic Explores Destitute Characters, Dark Plot Turns, and Magical Realism
LIVES UNRAVEL AT THE SEAMS OF CLASS, RACE, AND RELIGION IN A PLACE WHERE NO ONE EVER QUITE TELLS THE TRUTH
This was quite the creepy novel. I was quite shocked by it all. Not that I've led this sheltered life, I read, I've watched all of House of Cards!
It addresses a lot of current issues, race, class and alcoholism. These are issues that must be addressed. Addictions can be just so difficult.
How do the consequences of alcoholism impact our daily lives and those we love? It may be more than you think, as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported that, within the United States alone, 16.3 million adults ages 18 and older (6.8 percent of this age group) have an Alcohol Use Disorder. Nearly 88,000 of those individuals die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the country.
Two young men, one bi-racial and the other white, meet in an overnight lockup, thus beginning a shared twenty-year downward spiral into alcoholism and homelessness. LeRoy and Harmon work together, drink together, and brawl together. As Harmon suffers from his final illness, they both bed Edna, a wealthy widow who — out of pity, curiosity, and loneliness — takes them into her vacation home by the river.
1 comment:
This is the first I've heard of the book.
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