Lucy's Large Lunch: Commonality 1

A commonality – as when the people of a small town all feel the outrage of a fifteen-year-old girl's rape and murder, but the crime and it's mystery are such a shock to them that the character of the community becomes the deeper story. Lucy's Large Lunch – Commonality (the first of two stories in this town) is an account of how a teenager's horrible death affects three thousand people on distinct levels. It revisits the unnerved ol' boys anchoring the bench at the center of town, then the brash kids on the dusty diamond in their summer-long game – suddenly confused and snarling even more, trying to live past this. And, too, the five college friends prone to odd beer-fueled philosophy sessions out on the dark and silent country road…now scramble there all too often as though fearing the corruption of their idyllic childhood home. As well, there's Chief Cintz, middle-aged and homegrown, with his wise friend Wilf and their smart wives and years-grounded friends, all feeling lost. The police chief has little to go on, and strains for each new clue...as other town characters drift by – some odd, others mysterious. A likely suspect nicknamed Looker has been here merely ten years. He never speaks (can't) or interacts with anyone, but seems so gentle, astute. Aside from him, and maybe select others…well, no, it could be anyone. A few clues do surface, including indicators of a young boy peeping at the victim girl's bedroom window that night, perched on the backyard fence. (Seems facts need time to surface, for details to add together.) In Looker -- Commonality 2, sixteen-year-old Mike stabs his oldest brother Ray. It was rage against oppression. Again, it's as much about this community as him, as the age levels react. Mike slips away from house arrest and finds the perfect hiding place: the garage loft of vacationing neighbors. Alone for days (the first time in his life) – though Chief Cintz is searching everywhere around him – he contemplates it all. He instantly loves his freedom and recognizes why: his family is far from perfect, and he's now certain he's built to be independent. Ray teeters on the edge, and Mike's future hangs in the balance.

Lucy's Large LunchClarion Review 
 This novel's genius is its slow, leisurely pace, the philosophizing shared by "old boys" and beery teens, and the town's willingness to respond to the pain of those who have somehow fallen through the cracks in their families and town. Its lyrical phrasing and attention to tone and vocabulary invite readers to savor this story, relishing its small-town details and characters while also appreciating its timeliness and sensitivity.
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Elizabeth Breau
May 6, 2013