Aftermath » (Reprint)

Brian Shawver is the author of The Cuban Prospect. He received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He teaches creative writing at Missouri State University.

East Breed’s Pennsylvania, is the sort of blue-collar town that simmers with barely concealed prejudices. One Friday night, in the parking lot of a chain restaurant, a brutal fight breaks out between the privileged boys from St. Brendan's and a group of kids from the local high school. Casey Fielder, the restaurant's manager, watches the melee but does nothing to stop it. When the fight ends, Colin Chase, a handsome, cocky St. Brendan’s student, is severely brain-damaged. Haunting and heartbreaking, Aftermath portrays the lasting effects of that night: Casey loses his job and is determined to discover what led to the fight. Lea, Colin’s mother, hopes to reclaim her remote and defiant son. And both of them are drawn to a girl who seems to have played a larger role in Colin’s life than anyone knew.

The Washington Post - Carolyn See

Aftermath is a good, solid, very readable novel, but it's even more valuable as social history -- a chronicle of our unforgiving reality, as opposed to our ephemeral dreams.