A DEVIL SINGING SMALL

De: Karen Charbonneau

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Write what your know, they say. The author presents a novelization of her parents' marriage. Wife Betty recounts their World War II romance, a rocky beginning to what should be wedding bliss, the births of a son and daughter, and a move to rural Idaho. A man who could build or fix anything, Mitch gradually spirals into mental illness, obsessed with the Virgin Mary and extra-terrestrial flight. Betty relies on her love for the land and her own courage to fulfill her marriage vows and protect her family. From a life of subservience to the family bread-winner, temptation, fear and love give a razor’s edge to a sometime funny, but often difficult life. It is also the story of the conflicting relationship between mother and daughter Torie, and Betty’s pride and fears for son Michael, who becomes a combat infantry lieutenant in Vietnam. The author's observations of her father’s mental illness to give this novel of American family life, from the 1940s through the 1970s, an authenticity that has garnered praise from its readers.