Fiction
The Fortunate Brother
by Donna Morrissey
In Donna Morrissey’s 6th novel, we see the full range of human longing, redemption and exultation through life in a remote fishing village in the North Atlantic. Kyle is the 20-year old youngest son of the Now family. With the tragic death of his brother Chris, Kyle tries to shoulder the family burdens. His mother, the family’s tower of strength, is undergoing cancer treatment, while his father Sylvanus takes refuge in drinking. Threatening their fragile balance are two men who menace the community. One is the feral Trap. The other is the abusive Clar Gillard, whose vicious insanity was glimpsed when he tied his wife to a chair and sprayed her with oven cleaner. Kyle and his father have a nasty altercation with Clar and when he is found dead on their doorstep, they are suspects in his murder. Desperately, father and son struggle to protect the other. Donna Morrissey's novel takes on a mythic timelessness in this powerful story weaving love, grief and murder. With such simple materials she has fashioned a masterpiece.
