From the New York
Times Sunday Review:
Vincent Eaton's
dark, angry and intense first novel uses police documents,
psychological evaluations, interviews, straight narration and
interior monologues to chronicle the self-destruction of Tim Buckles.
At 28, Buckles appears at first to be leading a normal life. He has
a steady job as a lifeguard, a bungalow in Los Angeles and a loving
girlfriend named Alisa. The problem is, he feels as if he's living
someone else's life. When Alisa becomes pregnant, she encourages him
to take a job in her father's business. Tim's feelings of alienation
escalates. A drowning and then a disastrous visit to his elderly
parents, who have become more miserable with the years, push Tim over
the edge.
**
“...striking first novel....
...the devastating consequences of Tim's traumatic family dynamics,
captured powerfully in dialogue and brief vignettes, provide a
powerfully destructive counter force, with devastating consequences.
Eaton's harsh, unsparing tale jolts the reader, holding us
uncomfortably close to Tim's commingled criminal insanity and
humanity.
From Publisher's Weekly
“...striking first
novel.... The devastating consequences of Tim's traumatic family
dynamics, captured powerfully in dialogue and brief vignettes,
provide a powerfully destructive counter force... ...unsparing tale
jolts the reader, holding us uncomfortably close to Tim's commingled
criminal insanity and humanity.
From Bridgeport Press
Mr. Eaton concocts a puzzle
out of a depraved childhood, multiple murder mysteries, flashbacks,
hallucinations, a love story and self-analysis. ...a brave literary
debut about an intelligent man who, struggling to understand and
control his rage at his past, ''realizes himself away”.
