Gideon Banks quit the rat race to craft clay art, and he's become a minor folk hero, toting a statue of the Alabama governor to antitax rallies. His adopted son, Merit, spends his days doing nothing with elderly neighbor John Frederick White. When Gid shoots his wife's lover, all three men are blasted out of their ennui long enough to escape onto the state's back roads. What follows explores life on the lam and of people on the lam from life. Told through Merit's observant eyes, the story becomes an almost existential search for meaning and belonging as the fugitives seem destined to wander forever, relying on the kindness of strangers with visions of Huck Finn driving their charity. But funny things happen when it becomes clear they might never be caught: Gid starts growing a conscience, Merit dreams of the future and John Frederick, the prototypical wise simpleton, continues to embrace whatever each day brings. It's a subdued and satisfying read. Frank Sennett
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