Having won – dishonestly – what he called the “war”, the bitter divorce and custody battle with his wife, a father moves his two sons from Kansas to Albuquerque for what he promises will be a fresh start. But that fresh start soon deteriorates into an unrelenting nightmare as he turns out to be an irredeemable physical, emotional and substance abuser. The story is told from the perspective of his 12-year-old son and conveys unflinchingly the harm that comes from the longing for paternal approval as well as the disastrous consequences of clinging to paradigms of destructive masculinity.
It’s a dark novel, where the only relief comes in the form of nostalgia, as the young narrator remembers better times, and in the closeness of the relationship between the brothers. But the narrative voice fails to convince somehow – too detached and knowing and expressive for one so young. Also, the ability of the abused to break free from his abuser and from the labyrinthine snares of the son-father bond remains in psychological doubt.
