"One D.O.A., One on the Way"

A very small book (166 small pages) from minimalist writer Mary Robison, "One D.O.A., One on the Way" (Counterpoint, 2009) has a very large impact. The novel is both a prolonged cry of despair for New Orleans, post-Katrina, and a sad sort of love letter to the city as well. The main character, Eve, a movie location scout without much visible work, is married to Adam, and is having an affair with his twin brother Saunders. Saunders' wife Petal has threatened him with a gun and is now in the only psychiatric hospital still open in N.O. Adam and Saunders' parents are rich and extremely difficult. The story is told in very short episodes, often less than a page long, and is interspersed with lists about the terrible conditions in N.O., such as the crime statistics and lack of adequate police or other city services. Also interspersed are frequent lists of different types of gun holsters available; guns are a motif throughout the story. Somehow, despite all the despair, Eve's persona is smart if wounded, and her voice is mordantly witty. The novel easily kept my attention all the way to the dramatic conclusion.