Aftermath

Aftermath is set in East Breed’s, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar town that simmers with barely concealed prejudices and unspoken rules. One Friday night in the parking lot of a chain restaurant, class tension erupts in a brutal fight between the privileged boys from St. Brendan’s and a group of kids from the local high school. Casey Fielder, the restaurant’s manager, watches the melee but does nothing to stop it. When the fight ends, Colin Chase, a handsome, cocky student at St. Brendan’s, is left severely brain-damaged.

In a compelling and at times heartbreaking narrative, Brian Shawver portrays the lasting effects of one night. Casey, ostracized by his unforgivable behavior, loses his job and dedicates himself to investigating the causes of the fight, hoping that his discoveries will provide some justification for his failure to act. For Lea, Colin’s mother, the incident ironically offers a way to reclaim the defiant, arrogant son she hardly knew and could barely love. Although she hopes that the guilty boy will be found and punished, Lea can’t escape the feeling that Colin somehow brought the horror upon himself. As she looks for clues that will help her understand him, she discovers his apparent devotion to a young woman named Jenny, and she seizes on this relationship as the key that will finally allow her to love her son unconditionally.

Brian Shawver is the author of The Cuban Prospect. He received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He teaches creative writing at Missouri State University.