The dispiriting twists that threaten the course for the future and the sense of family comprise a near-culmination of the narrative’s stealth developments and subtly-emerging mysteries only hinted at in previous chapters. “The big bed and fine linens, the gourmet dinner, the hot bath,” Odd realizes, “was [already] showing its dim foolishness.” It may be enough to make Odd take matters into his own hands. What doesn’t kill you…
The narrative ebb and flow combines with Peter Geye’s well-considered characterizations to point up the all-too-human mix of good and bad within each of us. And the author’s nuanced imagery superbly paints a vivid sense of time and place—the ever-present snow and frozen landscape just might evoke Odd’s ice-fishing expeditions more than a little vicariously. All of these forces and impulses—and Geye’s deft ability in juggling and balancing these aspects--benefits from The Lighthouse Road’s complex but successfully-executed structure and interplay. Geye’s craftsmanship and style enriches and augments the substance of it all, too.
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