cover image A Boy in Winter

A Boy in Winter

Maxine Chernoff. Crown Publishers, $22 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-609-60522-6

Veteran poet and fiction writer Chernoff (American Heaven) infuses a powerful story with an eerie realism, as she begins the tale of anguished single mom Nancy Horvath, wondering how 11-year-old Danny, her bright, well-behaved only child, could have accidentally killed his best friend and next-door neighbor, Eddie. A working mother, she blames herself for the tragedy, while traumatized Danny holds himself, and Eddie's father, Frank Nova, responsible. The married Frank became Nancy's lover shortly after she moved into the Chicago neighborhood with Danny, and it is Frank who gave his hyperactive 10-year-old son the hunting bow that ended his life. Psychiatrists at the juvenile facility where Danny is held after the killing encourage him to write about his friendship with Eddie, and the resulting journal comprises the middle section of the novel. This journal reveals Danny's conflicted emotions, how he knew about and resented his mother's affair with Frank, yet how his longing for a father (his own dad left when he was two) kept him fond of the man who treated him like a second son. Disturbed by recurring visions of the doe that Frank killed on their first hunting trip, Danny describes the day that Eddie came over after school to show off his new compound hunting bow, and the fatal accident that resulted. A cautionary tale about lethal weapons in the hands of children, Chernoff's narrative is insightful about parents who underestimate their offspring's sensitivities. Although Nancy is blinded by her feelings for Frank, Danny knows his mother's affair could destroy both families. The resolution is tortuous, with the lovers estranged and a grief-stricken Frank turned kidnapper. Nancy, Danny and Frank seemed poised to step out of today's headlines, and sweet-natured, restless Eddie will haunt the reader's memory. (Sept.)