Jack McGill, divorced from Rachel and separated from his family for six years, begins to see his ex-wife and his former marriage through new eyes as he sits by Rachel's bedside waiting and hoping for her to wake from an accident-induced coma.
"In a drunken rage, Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a visiting sailor at a local fair. When they return to Casterbridge some nineteen years later, Henchard--having gained power and success as the mayor--finds he cannot erase the past or the guilt that consumes him."--back cover.
Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale "Iron John," in which a mentor or "Wild Man" guides a young man through eight stages of male growth, to remind us of images long forgotten -- images of a vigorous masculinity, both protective and emotionally centered.
Okonkwo, born into poverty in an Ibo village in Nigeria, is determined to overcome his circumstances and strives to obtain fields, wives, and prestige in his village, but the changes brought by white missionaries and government officals threaten tribal traditions and cause Okonkwo to lash out in anger.
