Karin-a sleepless preacher's wife, Will--a prisoner, Bobby Ray--the cop, Danny Boyd--the irresponsible brother, Ruthie--the seer, these are the people whose stories are told in Dogwood, by Chris Fabry.
Stories of love and loss, romance and prison, truth and fiction, I found this a fascinating tale of life in a small town after tragedy strikes.
Chris Fabry's characters are real people, not cardboard Christians, who face life's worst the best way they can, some with courage, some with resentment and rage and some in denial. There is a mystery at the heart of this love story and a love story at the heart of this mystery.
Chris Fabry's writing is fast-paced, tight and yet elegant too. To give you an example of what I mean here's part of a passage describing how a son relates to his father.
"Talk to me of a father's love, and I will tell you of baseball. Tell me of a tender touch or a hug that lasts in your memory, and I will kiss you with stories of our game. Walk with me in moonlight and I will tell you of pitchouts, squeeze bunts, and called third strikes...
In the cool of evening, when his work was done, my father and I played catch to the voices of Al Michaels and Joe Nuxhall. We groaned together through the 1971 season and rejoiced at the next and all the way to Oakland...
Baseball cast a spell that drew us together. Baseball was the closeness we shared. We were never able to express ourselves and enjoy each other fuly, without reservation, except with baseball."
Great story, great writing, great read.
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