Sounds like a good novel on a vital subject I look forward to reading. Here in southwest Montana we've had our share of tragic gun violence. Years ago, at the Margeret Leary Public Elementary School in Butte, a student who'd been bullied by classmates because his folks had AIDS brought his folks' gun to school and in the schoolyard accidentally shot and killed another student who happened to be in the path of the bullet. More recently, in Anaconda, a mentally ill military vet suffering from PTSD shot and killed three patrons and a bartender in a local bar. I wrote a column for our Butte paper asking why someone who'd been diagnosed as schizophrenic and bipolar was able to legally purchase the rifle used in the shooting. The answer is that Montana has virtually no gun control laws at all. Consequently, we have the second highest suicide rate in America, and guys are usually the weapon of choice, since they provide the easiest and most effective way to kill yourself.
I remember those incidents (though I wasn't there for the Margaret Leary Elementary School shooting); they were tragic and sad, as are all of these acts of violence in a land where guns roam relatively unchecked.
I just read Jodi Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes” about a school shooting and the bullying and failures in courage to stand up for friends and children that were part violence. It was also a hard read. I need to look at reading this too.
I love this review...so clever, my friend. And if people are interested, here's the interview I did with Mr. Englehardt about this book: https://russellrowland.substack.com/p/episode-seventeen-john-englehardt
Thanks, Russell. And thanks for linking to your interview with John, which is a great, thoughtful conversation.
I'm so glad you picked up the book and ended up loving it so much. John's writing really is amazing and provocative.
Sounds like a good novel on a vital subject I look forward to reading. Here in southwest Montana we've had our share of tragic gun violence. Years ago, at the Margeret Leary Public Elementary School in Butte, a student who'd been bullied by classmates because his folks had AIDS brought his folks' gun to school and in the schoolyard accidentally shot and killed another student who happened to be in the path of the bullet. More recently, in Anaconda, a mentally ill military vet suffering from PTSD shot and killed three patrons and a bartender in a local bar. I wrote a column for our Butte paper asking why someone who'd been diagnosed as schizophrenic and bipolar was able to legally purchase the rifle used in the shooting. The answer is that Montana has virtually no gun control laws at all. Consequently, we have the second highest suicide rate in America, and guys are usually the weapon of choice, since they provide the easiest and most effective way to kill yourself.
I remember those incidents (though I wasn't there for the Margaret Leary Elementary School shooting); they were tragic and sad, as are all of these acts of violence in a land where guns roam relatively unchecked.
I just read Jodi Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes” about a school shooting and the bullying and failures in courage to stand up for friends and children that were part violence. It was also a hard read. I need to look at reading this too.