Klara raises three children and, though she fled domestic violence from her father in her native country, lives daily with violence from her husband Drago in the new country. When Kara's daughter grows up and also marries an abusive man, continuing the cycle of violence in the family, Kara is haunted by dreams in which she takes revenge on her tormentors. What she endures and how she pulls herself and her daughter out of the cycle to find some measure of peace and stability is the theme of the novel.
Well written, with fluid prose and well developed characters. The book shows the longterm effects of domestic abuse on individuals and the family, as well as the hardship of life for families dependent on the steel mill industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Author Kristin Bair O'Keefe wrote a complete draft of this book as her thesis for her MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. Her book is based on her own experiences of life in a working class community in a steel mill town.
Thirsty: The Novel was published 2009 by Swallow Press. More information is available at http://www.thirstythenovel.com/
Source: ARC from Phenix & Phenix
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge
Posts
