A Light Chop in Protected Waters

In this work of literary fiction a crotchety, book-loving retiree returns in 1999 to his hometown on the Gulf Coast after an absence of forty years, determined to right the wrongs inflicted decades earlier by his younger brother, who usurped his place in the family firm. He also fortuitously reconnects with his young biologist/artist daughter, from whom he has been separated since her infancy and who has taken a job at a nearby sea lab. In attempting to re-establish a relationship with...
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In this work of literary fiction a crotchety, book-loving retiree returns in 1999 to his hometown on the Gulf Coast after an absence of forty years, determined to right the wrongs inflicted decades earlier by his younger brother, who usurped his place in the family firm. He also fortuitously reconnects with his young biologist/artist daughter, from whom he has been separated since her infancy and who has taken a job at a nearby sea lab. In attempting to re-establish a relationship with her he informs her about his own past life and her beginnings, including his study of classical literature, his long career abroad in the foreign service, his courtship of her mother in 1970s Munich and her mother's untimely death in a bomb explosion in Lebanon, as well as the reasons behind the father-daughter separation. The conflicts involved in his struggles to attain his goals of retribution and reconciliation force him to face up to his own role in each, and also to the societal norms of his native region and the parts of the world in which he has lived. His plans finally culminate in the spectacular hijacking of a Mardi Gras pageant, though the outcome is not what he expected. The story is told mainly in the third person and through dialogue, but the voice and character of the protagonist come through strongly. Plot, an interesting set of diverse characters, family conflicts, humorous touches, and varied settings in different historical backgrounds develop and interrelate in intriguing ways as they keep the reader engaged. With parallels to Shakespeare's Tempest and epigraphs from a variety of earlier literature, the text indicates the main character's passion for books and weaves the plot into the diverse written and musical cultures that have preceded it.