Untethered
In 1967 small-town Alabama, Katia Daniels directs a care home for Black boys, removed from or abandoned by their often drug-addicted parents. Recently back at her job after a hysterectomy, she cares deeply for the traumatized boys. The surgery ended her dream of having her own children, but aside from her job, it also removed her agency. Katia is constantly in tears, flowing, flooding and streaming, as are many of the other characters. She and her mother, and brother Marcus, just back from duty in Vietnam, deal with his PTSD and brother Aaron’s MIA status as told from Katia’s point of view.
But throughout, the reader is told the plot; even when a scene contains extreme tension or danger, it is told to us in a phone call or to Katia as she remains outside the action. The effect for the reader is diminished by this telling of a moving story set in an interesting time and place, since rather than taking us into the scenes, those scenes are dodged. The loss of agency by the protagonist may be reflected in the title, but the novel would be much stronger if we were shown the drama and raw reactions provoked by the extreme circumstances the characters face.
