cover image Carnal Sin

Carnal Sin

Edward Le Comte. Lantern Press, Incorporated, Publishers, $15.95 (182pp) ISBN 978-0-8313-5002-4

A book that opens with a quote from Dante's Inferno might be expected to have on its mind the journey from sin to redemption, as this cerebral novel by a noted Milton scholar and novelist ( He and She ) certainly does. The story records events of a single Sunday--October 18, 1970--through the eyes of 35-year-old Alex Cunningham, an editor living in suburban Connecticut who has just lost his job. Alex's sleepwalking wife, Martha, is depressed and suicidal; his 11-year-old daughter, Beatrice, may have been sexually assaulted by her female art teacher; and Alex himself has his carnal eye on a neighbor's wife. Nearly everything about this day, and Alex's many reflections on his life, revolves around sex, and stories about sex. Alex, however, hides his emotions behind words and wordplay, so while the book is a perfect portrait of a certain kind of character, the very traits that remove him from his own feelings also remove him from ours. The schematic nature of Alex's experiences, frequently filled with more literary references than actual events, mirrors his character. In the end, the very things the book is about prevent it from coming to life. (May)