Witches on the Road Tonight, (Conclusion)

The odd – very odd – assortment of characters in this story gets even odder as we near the end.  But part of the message here seems to be that we are all this odd; we just don’t see ourselves objectively enough to realize it.  When the husband of the witch at Panther Gap comes home to find it invaded by some curious city-folk, the chemistry which comes about is very strange indeed; yet, it’s quite believable in retrospect – we have all been in uncomfortable social situations that seem just on the verge of going completely off the tracks. 

When the “witchcraft” we’ve been waiting for finally takes place, it is presented in an almost allegorical manner, as the victim runs for his life in a panic, yet sensing just what it is he has to do to survive.  Strangely, we never really know whether he did, in fact, survive, or what became of him afterward - although there are hints earlier in the narrative - and the story concludes without our ever receiving the answer.  Perhaps this adds to the mysteriousness of the tale. 

The promiscuity of the adult heroine mentioned earlier is overshadowed by the revelation of the latent homosexuality of her father.  Of course, the book starts with allusions to this, but when it is revealed in the story, it comes as rather a surprise, and there is little to connect the two manifestations of the character.  Again, the message here may be that in real life that’s the way things happen, despite our expectations of the way things should be. 

The issue of suicide – or perhaps our sometimes tenuous grasp on our survival instincts – is explored here.  Our heroine feels the persistent guilt of the last thing she said to Jasper before he kills himself: “You were right,” she says. “If you were dead, we’d all be so relieved.”  When her father’s suicide attempt at the end is thwarted by her, she wonders if she shouldn’t have just let him have his way.  The fact that he had given her a clue, almost as if daring her to interfere, is telling – this, too, happens in real life, documented in suicide cases.  He thanks her at the very end. 

Those of us who were looking for a more “spooky” story were left hanging a little.  This story is more about how tough life can be and how it can throw you some nasty curves.  Yes, there is some spookiness involved, and a taste of supernaturalism, but these are very secondary features.  We are taking a good long look at some of the thornier patches in the human psychological make-up with this novel.  And this is done very well.




November's book has been changed to "Lunatics," by Dave Berry and Alan Zweibel! (If you already got a copy of "White Tiger," let me know and we'll read that in January or February.) Lunatics was recommended by a club member and is an excellent choice - good call, CJ!