In this Book
- The Constellations
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: Cornell University Press
- Series: Switchgrass Books
It's 1974 in DeKalb County, Illinois and the planets have failed to align for Roy Conlon. Widowed and broke, his eight-year-old son Eric is suddenly a mystery to him. The boy has become aware of a sky awhirl with stars and of the universe outside his small-Midwestern town. And as powerful forces pull Eric away, Roy's efforts to hold onto his son are threatened by weakness, guilt, and his participation in a foolish crime.
Enter The Constellations, a novel of the diverging paths of a father and his son, and how each copes with the loss of the woman whose love and guidance held them together. Roy and Eric's parallel journeys take them through a landscape populated by long shot players and kitchen sink philosophers, by ruthless thieves and fierce protectors. A compelling novel of small town America in the shadow of Vietnam and Watergate, Cunningham's spare prose and deftly drawn heroes complete a portrait of our country reminiscent of Mark Richard and Jim Shepard. Scarred, divided, and damaged, his characters represent all of our false promises and failed dreams.
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. 1-6
- Acknowledgments
- pp. vi-10
- The phone rang at 6 a.m.
- pp. 3-5
- Eric and Cammy listened
- pp. 6-7
- Roy declined a drag
- pp. 8-11
- On Friday mornings
- pp. 12-15
- By late morning Roy had
- pp. 16-19
- When Eric entered the kitchen
- pp. 20-21
- Phyl outdid herself
- pp. 22-23
- Eric signed up for baseball
- pp. 24-30
- “I’ll have to clear it with Fergus,”
- pp. 31-34
- Roy thought that
- pp. 35-39
- Phyl had a pot of ham
- pp. 40-41
- With Roy back at work
- pp. 42-50
- Once, when he was eleven
- pp. 51-52
- The cabbie turned
- pp. 53-58
- After Saturday practices
- pp. 59-62
- Roy and Dombey pulled
- pp. 63-67
- After, Lori eased off of him
- pp. 68-71
- Miss Birch had assigned
- pp. 72-75
- Every spring, Aunt Phyl piled
- pp. 76-81
- On alternate Saturdays
- pp. 82-85
- Clouds rolled in
- pp. 86-92
- Already Roy was
- pp. 93-99
- Fergus had been
- pp. 100-101
- Dombey returned to
- pp. 102-103
- The cemetery was nestled
- pp. 104-106
- He looked like a monster now
- pp. 107-112
- Deb had never acquired
- pp. 113-121
- The team milled around
- pp. 114-115
- Roy didn’t waste his energy
- pp. 116-121
- Every time Phyl returned
- pp. 122-125
- Roy stepped off the ladder
- pp. 126-129
- The apartment door was open
- pp. 130-132
- Aunt Deb’s apartment
- pp. 133-139
- The interview took place
- pp. 140-146
- The next morning dawned
- pp. 147-149
- Deb tried to time her arrival
- pp. 150-154
- On Saturday, the sixth
- pp. 155-163
- When Roy got home
- pp. 156-158
- Roy sat staring ahead
- pp. 159-161
- It was before 8 a.m.,
- pp. 162-165
- Deb managed to get
- pp. 166-168
- The bag of cans
- pp. 169-170
- The buildings and church steeples
- pp. 171-172