Joyce J

Dubus does not paint a very attractive picture of the relations between men and woman. Men are seen as predators only wanting one thing and the women, all beautiful (he uses the adjective "beautiful" to the point of tedium) endure the consequences of the men's actions. Sex is a bartering tool, an account to be drawn from and used. The daughter and her father each travel their own memory train to the point of collision. I found the ending flat. None of the main characters are likeable. They work in a carnival, a place of false hope. Dubus uses a mundane trick of references to books to connote intelligence in the daughter Susan and her mother Linda, like a white hat on a cowboy to tell you he was the hero. It was weak. They were weak. I was intrigued that the father's post prison professions were chair caning and hair cutting. Caning is also a type of punishment and the father certainly did plenty of that. Like Sampson, Daniel's anger lost its power. I would not recommend this book.