The Lamb Bright Saviors of Vivian’s stark latest (after The Mover of Bones
) are four damaged man-boys chosen by a terminally ill itinerant preacher named Mr. Gene to witness his death at the house of a blind woman in a small Nebraska town they’ve dubbed Point Blank, “because there’s nowhere to hide and nothing to protect you.” Each recounts his own sordid story as they listen to Mr. Gene’s deathbed rant. Oly lives in the dugout of an abandoned baseball field and dreams of a job as a junior high sports coach. Yarborough, an ex-con, gets bloody revenge on a former fellow inmate before forgiving him. Gus covers his body with tattoos, wanting “to have the imprint of my rage stamped across my skin.” Munoz, back from the war in Iraq, has brought with him the head of a friend killed in combat. Vivian is a latter-day Faulkner set loose with no editorial restraints, so there is no need to suspend your disbelief for this story. You can only go along for the brilliantly written ride, full of sound and fury that signifies little but moves us intensely. (Mar.)
