The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn

Kip Flynn, a young woman living in the slums of Toronto, breaks into an abandoned house with her boyfriend, Mani, and finds a wealthy industrialist and his son living there. When the industrialist, Cyrus York, sees the couple, he shoots Mani. Cyrus bribes Kip into keeping quiet about her boyfriend's death by giving her half of his fortune ($15 million), which infuriates Cyrus's son, Pat, who sees this as a theft of his inheritance. Later, Kip accidentally causes Cyrus to have a heart attack when she brings burial clothes for Mani, which his father's death makes Pat vow revenge. After Kip finishes mourning Mani, she too vows revenge against Pat. Dixon (The Girls Who Saw Everything) plays with language and form, using images to crystallize a reader's experience and make them consider the possibilities of the novel. Despite a promising start, the story falls apart by the last third, with magical realism taking over in a way that obscures the plot. Still, readers will appreciate Dixon's storytelling and should be willing to overlook the ending. (Oct.)\t