From Publishers Weekly
What if a man's narcissism were so complete that it defied time, thwarted prison and thrived on a diet of parenting crimes and other sins? Such is the story of William O'Leary, aka Belly, the antihero of Davis's well-written but psychologically stifling debut. Davis has a lovely touch with homesickness and dark humor, one that humanizes 59-year-old Belly, convicted on an illegal gambling charge, as he returns to the scene of his original problems in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. His wistful memories of his hometown before it embraced major retail make his violence all the more terrible, as Belly unleashes his particular brand of self-rationalization and evil on the family that is, inexplicably, waiting around for him. While his daughters worry over him, wait on him and bend to his will, their increasingly dumbfounded sons and lovers watch as Belly stubbornly performs a cycle of drunkenness, abuse of women and demi-reflection. While some past (and new) crimes are worse than others, it's not like Belly changes. And that's the problem: Davis never fully reveals the demons that drive Belly to destroy. Instead, his moments of revelation are self-absorbed and fleeting, and they don't stick until the end, when they come across as too pat.
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From Booklist
Personification via body parts begins with the title and continues with protagonist William "Belly" O'Leary, erstwhile drunk and druggie, leaving the state pen after serving four years on an illegal gambling charge. He's gotten two years off for good behavior and awaits contact from the New York Racing Association, who'd sent word to keep his mouth shut; his oldest daughter, Nora; and his "midwestern princess," Loretta. A bus returns him to Saratoga Springs, a place he envisions as a classic woman in a Greek chiton, revered most of the year but in August--racing season--turning into a brassy dame with dyed hair and too much makeup. But now track season runs from July to Labor Day, and designer coffee shops and Wal-Mart have displaced Belly's old haunts, leaving him pushing 60, trying to pass for 45, and stranded in a new world of childproof lighters and a daughter studying "Book Arts." Comically poignant and well paced, Davis' look at "family values" under stress seems good movie material.
Whitney ScottCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
