"FRESH KILLS" by Bill Loehfelm (A-)
I never thought that I
would ever see a book sporting as its title the name of the country's most infamous landfill, but the choice of this strange
title seems apt and even inspired for a story about a wreck of a young man from Staten Island who has been dumped on all of
his life by his abusive father. Then the chance for redemption and even forgiveness occurs when his father, a brute of a man,
is suddenly gunned down in broad daylight by an unknown assailant.
The Fresh Kills landfill achieved its own kind of redemption
when it became the final resting place for the remains of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy along with the leftover rubble from
the World Trade Center. All of a sudden this locale was elevated in status almost to hallowed ground, lifting with it the
status of Staten Island, formerly the Rodney Dangerfield of New York City boroughs, to that of nearly gentrified respect.
Similar to the Fresh Kills
landfill suddenly and unexpectedly achieving respect, the intriguing metaphorical premise of this novel is whether or not
an unexpected and shocking family tragedy will allow for the protagonist to use the occasion as a catharsis to rise above
the personal demons plaguing him to find a new life and maybe even love.
The intelligence and clarity of this 2008 book by Bill Loehfelm
belies the fact that it is the inaugural effort by this author. This is a certainly a very auspicious beginning, for he has
penned a very readable story with well drawn characters and interesting dialogue. This is no mean feat when much of the plot
revels in the anger, bitterness, and resentment held by John Sanders, Jr., a young man who hides in his personal shell and
works as a bartender for what passes for a yuppie bar on Staten Island. Although good looking and a decent enough person,
John is an utter failure at relationships with the few loves in his life finally giving up on him and moving on to more promising
territory.
In an ironic and sad twist of fate, he was named after his father, so he grew up being called "Junior,"
a nickname which he abhorred and which must have cut all the more since his father regularly beat him up after coming home
drunk from the local pub. John, Senior, was a bear of a man who had been a star collegiate football player, but then spent
the rest of his life working at dead end jobs.
Father and son had nothing in common. Junior took after
his mother and was slight of build and temperament. He idolized his mother, as did his sister, Julia, and both were heartbroken
when their mother passed away before her time after a difficult life and an even more difficult marriage. Junior sometimes
didn't mind that his father beat him up, for that meant that his dad wasn't going after his wife to beat her up.
With such a role model,
it is not surprising that Julia became a lesbian and moved away to Boston. Her choice of lifestyle remains unknown to her
former high school friends who were captivated by her charm and exceptional beauty. Now back home for the funeral, she has
almost given up hope for Junior, who has yet to reach out to other people. Not that she will be of much help to her brother
after the recent breakup of her own long time relationship under less than ideal circumstances, but at least she had the courage
to enter therapy.
John is a big Mets fan, but even that provides little solace, as they are on a losing streak for
the season. He works nights as a bartender at the Cargo saloon, where a small circle of nominal friends allow him to be himself.
Strangely, Molly Francis, his first great love from high school, still stops over for sexual escapades even though she is
living with another man. She lays down strict rules for their relationship, so discussions about the future or her home life
are off the table. This is all right with John, who likes the sex without commitment setup just the way it is.
Now Officer Carlo Purvis
is at his door to tell him that his father has been murdered. He provides few details and enjoys implying that John might
be a suspect since everyone knows that John hated his dad. The two had once been good friends in high school, but Carlo had
treated Julia badly, so ever since John has considered him to be just another jerk. This might be very problematic for him
if he didn't have the protection of Nat Waters, Carlo's senior officer and a long time friend of the family. Nat Waters well
remembers the kind of man John's father was from the many times he had to break up his bar fights.
John Sanders will have
to sort though a lot of issues, not the least of which is his anger at not being able to get back at his dad. His hatred is
so intense that he is only sorry that someone else had murdered him. Julia worries if her brother will ever be able to show
up at Scalia's Funeral Home for the wake or show up at the church to give the eulogy. What will he find to say, and what will
his last words be about a man who he has hated all of his life?
Author Loehfelm provides a lot of local color to his story,
which only adds to its already considerable interest. Fresh Kills is always referred to as "the Dump," while the famous Staten
Island Ferry (from "Working Girl") is always referred to as "the Ferry." Other landmarks are also shortened, like the Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge, which is merely referred to as "the Bridge." What has not been abbreviated is the pleasure of reading this very fine
book. 2008, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 326 pages.
