In a time when over half the marriages in the United States end in divorce, it should not be surprising that broken homes have become a common theme in literature. After all, they say that you write what you know. But something popular is not necessarily something easy to write about. Creating a divorce novel that doesn't make the mistake of either over-sentimentalizing or trivializing the issue is difficult.
Edward DeAngelo gracefully avoids both of these traps in his debut novel, The Lies That Bind, as he seeks to define the notion of fatherhood. After years of suspecting he is not the biological father of his thirteen-year-old son, Pete Morrison finally has himself tested -only to have his doubts confirmed. When he confronts his ex-wife, Joan, with the information, she retaliates. She refuses to allow him to see his son, Sam, in an attempt to shelter the teenage boy from the ensuing conflict - namely, a very messy, very public court battle that struggles to define what it really means to be a parent.
What sets this novel apart from others that deal with divorce is that it is told from the perspective of the father. Usually portrayed as the bad guy, DeAngelo creates a sympathetic, albeit troubled, character in Pete. The reader is taken on a journey through the inner turmoil of emotional distress of a man who is suddenly faced with the prospect of losing the one thing he had to live for - a son who is not really his son. DeAngelo produces a certain innocence in Pete and a vulnerability that is endearing.
But while the author strays a bit from the deadbeat dad image, he does not fill the bad guy role with Joan, Pete's ex-wife. Rather than portraying her as dishonest, scheming and insensitive - which he certainly could have done - DeAngelo succeeds in effectively conveying her own struggle following the fateful DNA test that changes the Morrison family forever. Having put the past behind her, Joan must suddenly confront the mistake she made 13 years ago as well as the prospect of losing Pete's support - monetary and otherwise.
The one stereotype of the broken home syndrome in The Lies That Bind is the child stuck in the middle. When his parents become entangled in the legalities and responsibilities of parenthood, Sam inevitably gets caught between two parents who both fear that they have betrayed their son in ways that may be irreparable. While Joan tries to turn Sam against Pete, Pete arranges secret meetings with Sam despite the court order denying his visitation rights. Only 13 years old, Sam must learn to redefine his relationship with the man he has believed to be his father.
The evolution of the characters is remarkable - Pete, Joan and Sam recover from the drastic changes in their lives and emerge as new and better people. The change is subtle and gradual, but DeAngelo is careful to portray the growth of these characters clearly. They change their life goals and priorities according to the new difficulties they face. While they may no longer be the family they used to be, they remain bound together by experiences, respect, and love. Because DeAngelo skillfully avoids making this evolution overly poignant, the transformation each of the characters undergoes is believable.
Where The Lies That Bind disappoints is at the very end. DeAngelo spends 300 pages eloquently escaping the pitfall of over-sentimentalizing - and then falls headfirst into the hole. It seems as though he suddenly became consumed by the need to create a tidy, happy ending. Which he does. The problem is that it is an unexpected, awkward, and unfitting conclusion to a novel that has been about struggle and the need to move on. It undermines the transformation of the lives of Pete, Joan, and Sam, trivializing the difficulties they have had to contend with since Pete first confronted his wife. DeAngelo tries to wrap everything in a neat little package, which is glaringly unnecessary.
Despite the disappointing conclusion - which you can avoid altogether by not reading the last 12 superfluous pages- The Lies That Bind is a worthwhile read for anyone who has been through divorce in one way or another. DeAngelo offers a refreshing perspective on the experience, making the novel a true original amongst all the other books on the shelf.
