In this bleak and commonplace environment, a grieving widow tries to rear her two sons while coping with her own need for rum bottle comfort on a steady basis. One boy is on the cusp of manhood, furtively sipping those first illicit beers and trying to learn to handle desire while tossing on the roiling sea of hormones. The other boy is still an imaginative child switching from a keen awareness of the paucity of his life and his imaginary efforts to save the universe. Tharp renders the latter with brilliant subtlety. Along the way, his tale examines the small-time marijuana grower, the epidemic of alcohol abuse, and the alienation and despair which is the fabric of many American lives right in the middle of our historic financial boom as a nation.
Distribution is everything.
This novel is a substantial achievement and, despite its dark tone, the reader is offered a clue about the palliative and redemptive value of honest relationships. It limns a world not often depicted in fiction. Larry L. King on . Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved.