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By Lynette G. Esposito
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Paul Harding, author of Tinkers and Enon says Follow the Sun by Edward J, Delaney is just plain fantastic. I agree.
The seven-part, 287 page dramatic story explores a family’s trials, tribulations and daily life experiences in its quest to find both answers and resolutions in its search for its missing parts. This search leads the reader to a deeper understanding of family and what family represents.
The lead character, Quinn Boyle, has “bugs” in his head from the first line of part one. While the author clarifies the bugs are lobster and the location is on the lobster docks and boats, the relationship of psychological issues is crystal clear. His brother, Robert, who takes time off to visit the local bar, again gives a clear relationship for the need of psychological relief even if it comes from a bottle. Daily life is depicted in a realistic way for these fictional characters who live on the edge of poverty.
The story line addresses contemporary issues of not being able to make a living and still have to pay child support; problems with drug addiction, and despair when few options are left in making life choices. The locations in which these decisions are made do not take place in upscale homes and fancy places but on lobster boats, in prison, newspaper offices and local bars. The despair of the human journey for the hard working but poverty-stricken brothers leads one to his supposed demise and the other on a quest for truth. The family legacy becomes an analysis of the burdensome past, the acceptance of the present, and a questioning of the future. For example, Robbie muses:
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There’s too much in the space between then and now, an entire
continent worth of unanswered questions.
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The lead character makes some of his own problems as he struggles to survive and yet Delaney represents Quinn as a man who believes he can leave his problems behind and start a new. Quinn believes he can make himself “not remember.” The dialogue is realistic and the characters are believable. Delaney uses contemporary language as if he has listened to real people conversing and transformed their conversations into this piece of fiction. Quinn says
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“I guess people can make themselves see what they want to see.”
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While this phrase fits well into the story, one hears it in real life all the time and the reader understands the truth of it.
The book is a good read with its clear language and characters who try to make their lives work but cannot always reach their goals just like most of us.
Delaney is an award-winning author, journalist and filmmaker. Besides Follow the Sun, he has published Broken Irish and Warp and Weft as well as a short story collection, The Drowning and Other Short Stories. He has also directed and produced documentary films including The Times Were Never So Bad: The Life of Andre Dubus and Library of the Early Mind. He edits the literary journal Mount Hope.
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Follow the Sun is available fromwww.cbsd.com and published by Turtle Point Press: www.turtlepointpress.com
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Lynette G. Esposito has been an Adjunct Professor at Rowan University, Burlington County and Camden County Colleges. She has taught creative writing and conducted workshops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mrs. Esposito holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois and an MA in Creative Writing and English Literature from Rutgers University. Her articles have appeared in the national publication, Teaching for Success; regionally in South Jersey Magazine, SJ Magazine. Delaware Valley Magazine, and her essays have appeared in Reader’s Digest and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her poetry has appeared in US1, SRN Review, The Fox Chase Review and other literary magazines. She has critiqued poetry for local and regional writer’s conferences and served as a panelist and speaker at local and national writer’s conferences. She lives with her husband, Attilio, in Mount Laurel, NJ.
North of Oxford 