Death of the Black-Haired Girl

Inured. The presence of evil may be so pervasive that most of us are inured to the many manifestations of it, and we may proceed regularly with choices that lead away from the good and toward evil. Robert Stone explores the choices of many characters in his novel, Death of the Black-Haired Girl. Maud is the student referred to in the book title, and her written pro-abortion views call attention to her by those who disagree. She is having an affair with a professor, Steve Brookman, who chooses to be unfaithful to his wife. Maud’s father, Eddie Stark, dying of emphysema and grieving her death, approaches the Catholic church where his wife’s remains are entombed, with a request to bury Maud alongside her mother, and he is met with rejection rather than solace. A former nun, now a campus counselor, provides a moral compass, but she has also become accustomed to the presence of evil all around her. Stone offers those readers who enjoy fine literary prose a thought-provoking novel. Most readers will like neither the characters nor their behavior, but they reflect individuals who live in our communities and dull our sense of right and wrong. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Death of the Black Haired Girl from amazon.com.