Rating: 
Summary: Compelling
Review: This is a sad, dark novel with sad, dark characters. Beautifully written with very real people and scenes of harrowing behavior by otherwise ordinary people. The elevation of suspected murderer Ronny Lawton to local folk hero at Denny's, where he becomes employee of the month as a result of his sudden popularity among the high school crowd is frightening in the depth of its truth. Bill, the young narrator, is a lost, desperately lonely man whose life has become a twisted, painful thing because of an absence of familial love; a man whose grandfather was a tyrannical self-made immigrant millionaire and whose father was a suicide. Bill is brilliant, almost too aware of society deconstructing before his eyes, and a truly touching character.The major problem I had with this book was the time frame. The references are all over the map and at most points the story would appear to be set in the 70s; yet there are references forward in time that confuse the issue so that one is left wondering if there are anachronisms on the page or if one has misunderstood the time frame. Given the significance of Vietnam to the story, I had trouble determining just when the action was taking place. That said, this is well worth reading--particularly Bill's fascination with Lucas, the child of Ronny Lawton's "estranged"--as she is referred to throughout the book--with whom Bill becomes involved, almost against his will. At the end, there is the hope that Bill will rescue little Lucas from a fate too similar to his own. And that is something remarkably uplifting in a book that is so very grim.
Recommended.
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