The author, who has a gift for exploring the human mind on its lonely path to madness in all its shapes and forms, has won several awards for this book. The experience of reading it is a dark, intense journey into the world of mental illness, but not necessarily the overt kind. Rather, it is often a more subtle variety. It explores the kind of people who seem to be able to function, however minimally, along with those who function well, without ever showing their true nature to the world at large, people who harbor deep problems that are unrecognized and untreated or even ignored. I felt that all of the characters featured in this book were disturbed to some degree. They were neither sympathetic nor likable.
Although this novel is about two very disturbed, dysfunctional women, Eileen Dunlop and Rebecca Saint John, who formed a bond that encouraged each other’s irrational behavior, in fact, it was really Eileen Dunlop’s story. Now, as an elderly woman, she reveals to the reader the events of her life during the week before Christmas, when she was 24 years old. In doing so, she reveals bits of her past and part of her present life, as well.
In her twenties, Eileen was more than unhappy; She was never a popular girl, had few friends and few dates, but she did break away and go away to college for a year. Unexpectedly called home to care for her dying mother after just a year away, she decided not to return to school. Instead, she remained at home to care for her father, an ex-police officer, who was slowly losing his grasp on reality and who often hallucinated about being pursued by assorted, unknown assailants. Eileen enabled him to drink by shopping for, and providing him with, a constant supply of alcohol, and she even sometimes drank with him. She fantasized about the life she wanted, but it was more like the fantasy of a child than an adult. She found fault with everyone and everything around her blaming them for her situation. She felt different, worthless, unwanted, unloved, and unappreciated; she was insecure and lacked confidence. Often, her own behavior was cruel and malicious. She willfully damaged property, shoplifted and lied.
Eileen and Rebecca both worked at Moorehead Prison for boys. Rebecca was hired as an education consultant and Eileen was a secretary. Both became interested in a prisoner, Lee Polk, at about the same time. After learning about his heinous crime and why he committed it, Rebecca became overly concerned about him and his plight. She believed in retribution and thought someone should pay for what he did, just not necessarily him.
Eileen was so grateful for Rebecca’s attention and so hungry for companionship that she quickly became devoted to her, turning a blind eye to any doubts she had about her behavior. To be sure, Eileen's behavior was nothing to write home about either. Eileen preferred to imitate Rebecca’s confident self-assured manner, ignoring all else. A smile or a compliment easily molded Eileen, already emotionally compromised, into a very compliant friend and accomplice.
This book was really an in-depth study of madness and brutality that was hidden inside very damaged and disturbed people. They presented one face to the outside world while they lived another life in their own world. They felt nothing for those they hurt because they found reasons to justify their behavior. It was hard to find one redeeming feature in the characters. While it was a very insightful read, it was also very bleak.