Child of God: A NovelEverybody knows everybody else's business in Downtown, Tennessee. Neighbors while away afternoons at the local bar, swapping rumors about voodoo, incest, and illegitimate children. Usually they're gossiping about the Boten clan. In this epic family saga, Lolita Files unveils the hidden lives of three generations of the Boten family. She introduces us to Grandma Amalie, a mother so fiercely protective, she will quietly sacrifice everything for her son. There's Grace, who conceals the identity of her child's father for more than twenty years. There's Aunt Sukie, whose strange power over her husband, Walter, is matched only by the strength of her dark magic. And then there's Lay, the bad seed, whose secret betrayals will cost his family dearly. The family's past begins rising to the surface when a mysterious fire takes the life of young Ophelia Boten's infant son. The tragedy sets the family in motion, its members on a quest for self-discovery that will lead them to the drug world of inner-city Detroit, a midwestern college campus, the jungles of Vietnam, and back again. Ophelia sets her own course, one that will ultimately bring her into the arms of a caring and benevolent lover. But before she can embrace her new life and begin a family of her own, she must fully understand and accept the Boten clan's tormented legacy. Inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, Child of God is a story of family bonds, of forbidden love, of sacrifice and redemption. Moving deftly forward and backward in time, the narrative weaves the past with the present, and the family's mistakes echo unforgettably through each successive generation. As rich as it is rewarding, this is Lolita Files's most ambitious novel to date. |
Contents
| 11 | |
| 21 | |
19281932 Grace | 41 |
1932 Hailey | 57 |
1966 Lay | 63 |
1944 Walter | 87 |
19661968 Coolie and Polo | 117 |
19671968 Ophelia | 153 |
19451969 Secrets | 199 |
1969 Love | 265 |
1969 Revelation | 275 |
1969 Confrontation | 293 |
1998 Epilogue | 307 |
Acknowledgments | 311 |
About the Author | 317 |
19671968 Transitions | 173 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ain’t gon ain’t never Amalie arms asked baby bedroom began beignets Benny Benny’s Big Daddy Big Daddy’s body Boten bout breath brother Bucksport Caesar can’t Canada chest Coolie Coolie’s couldn’t cried dark Detroit Deveauxs Dickey door Downtown Evan eyes face faggot feel fell felt fingers floor fucking girl gonna gotta grabbed Grace guess Hailey hair hand head hear heroin hurt I’ma I’on know I’ve Javier kissed kitchen knew laughed Lay’s leaned lips looked Lucky Star ma’am Madame Lucien Mama mother mouth Nehi night okay Ophelia Piedmont Polo Polo’s pulled rushed She’s shit shole shook shoulders sister smiled smoke stared stood stopped Sukie Sukie’s Susu talk tears tell There’s thing thought tight told took tryna turned voice walked Walter wanna wasn’t watched What’s whispered woman won’t words Y’all Yeah You’re