The Garment of Destiny edition by Thomas Thonson Literature Fiction eBooks
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When Eli Steadman, a mixed-race student raised by a white family, fakes a hate crime on a college campus so that he can win the student body presidency, he sets off a firestorm of events that reverberate through many people’s lives with unexpected consequences. The controversy alienates Eli from his family and renders him vulnerable to a web of competing agendas by a cast of self-serving and craven enablers –– both black and white. Soon he has betrayed almost everything he believes in. Set in a small Colorado mountain town in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina playing out on television screens all across the country, The Garment of Destiny is a novel that turns a gimlet eye on the landscape of American life. Along the way it finds both dark comedy and tender tragedy, and is sure to be as controversial as it is riveting.
The Garment of Destiny edition by Thomas Thonson Literature Fiction eBooks
Far from the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, a storm of racial tension is about to rage through the fictional Kors College in The Garment of Destiny. Correspondingly, the subject matter of Thomas Thonson's second book and first novel is miles from that of his Hollywood themed collection, You Don't Die of Love, which I reviewed last August for LLBR. Yet the author retains the same ability to create complex and unique characters using an unpretentious writing style.A cross burning on the lawn of Moses Stokes, a professor at the Colorado school, foreshadows the racial and cynical tones underlying the subsequent events. Moses sends his family away, ostensibly for safety, but also for convenience so he can pursue other activities his wife would not appreciate, including an affair with his gorgeous assistant, Eva Diaz. That duplicity is reflected in many of the other characters including, eventually, the one we ought to root for, Eli Steadman.
Moses enlists Eli to represent the professor's interests by challenging the indomitable Lucy Raines for student body president. Moses hates Lucy because she's been publicly critical of the professor in the past. He sees Lucy as an influential bigot. A rise in her status could only increase his troubles. Naïve Eli, relatively sheltered from racism to this point in his life, just thinks she's a jerk:
****
Just ahead, he spotted Lucy Raines sitting at her little campaign table. Lucy was nobody's siren. She was an organization kid right down to the soles of her shoes. Every minute of her day was planned and her enthusiasm never waned: whether it was giving campus tours for prospective students, or taking part in something called the Community Service Leadership Training Corps, an organization that baffled Eli. What did they really do, anyway? He could never figure it out. It didn't help that Lucy thought she was smarter than everybody, and let you know it right away. There was no way to have a regular conversation with old Lucy. No way.
****
Eli's detached, happy-go-lucky worldview quickly bursts like a weak levee when other people invade his space and the college town like a storm. There's Tyus and his brood of gangbangers from South Central LA, invited by Moses to help him with research, cooking up trouble in the form of a meth lab. There's Tanya Brown, arriving in search of the son she gave up--Eli--and perhaps to make trouble for the rapist who fathered him, the Reverend Donald Devine. Then there's Alan Drabble, a white psychology professor seeking tenure at the college by exploiting the race card to set up a mandatory diversity program only he'd be qualified to run. And of course, the aforementioned Moses and his temptress, Eva Diaz.
The direct and indirect influence of these people and their agendas sweep away Eli's personal values and lead him to make self-destructive decisions. Much like New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina--a current event frequently referenced in the story--on an individual scale. The apex of his fall occurs when Eli colludes with several people to fabricate and conceal a hate crime. The falsity ensures his victory in the election when Lucy drops out, on principle. It also triggers other actions and reactions that ensure his personal downfall, as well as tragic, often bizarre endings for others.
The first chapters in the book read more like short stories or vignettes of the characters and remind me of You Don't Die of Love. Once the more dramatic events unfold, the pace picks up and it becomes more like a novel. Even then, the majority of the narrative takes place in people's heads, after the fact, with more reflection than action. It's a plot based on effect and cause, rather than cause and effect, and in that respect it complements the opening quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that inspired the title.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever effects one directly affects all indirectly."
It's risky for an author to distance the reader from the action this way, not to mention allowing the reader to lose empathy for the protagonist. Yet here it makes sense. The true drama exists in the psyches of the characters and their interaction with this toxic and racially volatile environment. The parallels to the awful circumstances of Hurricane Katrina are apt.
The variety in the voices ensures this approach never gets tedious. As does the strong writing--the influence of Updike, Roth, and other New Yorker style masters is evident. Unfortunately, as with Thonson's previous book, the proofreading did not live up to the quality of the prose. At one point we're told Tyus's nickname is Hitter, then later it's Shooter. As well, the ending seemed somewhat anti-climactic and long. The reliance on coincidence to bring characters and elements together was flimsy at times and the potential conflict promised by the return of Eli's biological mother didn't materialize as emotionally as it could have.
These concerns do not negate the fact that The Garment of Destiny is a unique and challenging novel, but one that, despite the nature of its content, also entertains. Another worthwhile read from an accomplished writer willing to take chances.
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The Garment of Destiny edition by Thomas Thonson Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Far from the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, a storm of racial tension is about to rage through the fictional Kors College in The Garment of Destiny. Correspondingly, the subject matter of Thomas Thonson's second book and first novel is miles from that of his Hollywood themed collection, You Don't Die of Love, which I reviewed last August for LLBR. Yet the author retains the same ability to create complex and unique characters using an unpretentious writing style.
A cross burning on the lawn of Moses Stokes, a professor at the Colorado school, foreshadows the racial and cynical tones underlying the subsequent events. Moses sends his family away, ostensibly for safety, but also for convenience so he can pursue other activities his wife would not appreciate, including an affair with his gorgeous assistant, Eva Diaz. That duplicity is reflected in many of the other characters including, eventually, the one we ought to root for, Eli Steadman.
Moses enlists Eli to represent the professor's interests by challenging the indomitable Lucy Raines for student body president. Moses hates Lucy because she's been publicly critical of the professor in the past. He sees Lucy as an influential bigot. A rise in her status could only increase his troubles. Naïve Eli, relatively sheltered from racism to this point in his life, just thinks she's a jerk
****
Just ahead, he spotted Lucy Raines sitting at her little campaign table. Lucy was nobody's siren. She was an organization kid right down to the soles of her shoes. Every minute of her day was planned and her enthusiasm never waned whether it was giving campus tours for prospective students, or taking part in something called the Community Service Leadership Training Corps, an organization that baffled Eli. What did they really do, anyway? He could never figure it out. It didn't help that Lucy thought she was smarter than everybody, and let you know it right away. There was no way to have a regular conversation with old Lucy. No way.
****
Eli's detached, happy-go-lucky worldview quickly bursts like a weak levee when other people invade his space and the college town like a storm. There's Tyus and his brood of gangbangers from South Central LA, invited by Moses to help him with research, cooking up trouble in the form of a meth lab. There's Tanya Brown, arriving in search of the son she gave up--Eli--and perhaps to make trouble for the rapist who fathered him, the Reverend Donald Devine. Then there's Alan Drabble, a white psychology professor seeking tenure at the college by exploiting the race card to set up a mandatory diversity program only he'd be qualified to run. And of course, the aforementioned Moses and his temptress, Eva Diaz.
The direct and indirect influence of these people and their agendas sweep away Eli's personal values and lead him to make self-destructive decisions. Much like New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina--a current event frequently referenced in the story--on an individual scale. The apex of his fall occurs when Eli colludes with several people to fabricate and conceal a hate crime. The falsity ensures his victory in the election when Lucy drops out, on principle. It also triggers other actions and reactions that ensure his personal downfall, as well as tragic, often bizarre endings for others.
The first chapters in the book read more like short stories or vignettes of the characters and remind me of You Don't Die of Love. Once the more dramatic events unfold, the pace picks up and it becomes more like a novel. Even then, the majority of the narrative takes place in people's heads, after the fact, with more reflection than action. It's a plot based on effect and cause, rather than cause and effect, and in that respect it complements the opening quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that inspired the title.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever effects one directly affects all indirectly."
It's risky for an author to distance the reader from the action this way, not to mention allowing the reader to lose empathy for the protagonist. Yet here it makes sense. The true drama exists in the psyches of the characters and their interaction with this toxic and racially volatile environment. The parallels to the awful circumstances of Hurricane Katrina are apt.
The variety in the voices ensures this approach never gets tedious. As does the strong writing--the influence of Updike, Roth, and other New Yorker style masters is evident. Unfortunately, as with Thonson's previous book, the proofreading did not live up to the quality of the prose. At one point we're told Tyus's nickname is Hitter, then later it's Shooter. As well, the ending seemed somewhat anti-climactic and long. The reliance on coincidence to bring characters and elements together was flimsy at times and the potential conflict promised by the return of Eli's biological mother didn't materialize as emotionally as it could have.
These concerns do not negate the fact that The Garment of Destiny is a unique and challenging novel, but one that, despite the nature of its content, also entertains. Another worthwhile read from an accomplished writer willing to take chances.
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