Beginning of Essay
, a deeply affecting novel by Ron Hansen, opens in winter on the high plains of Colorado to the tropics of Mexico, as well as from the realm of whodunit detective mystery to the larger realm of the Mystery, which has its own heartbreaking, consoling, and redemptiv ....

Middle of Essay
.... discover nothing less than the ideal dad. Scott's testing of his father's love goes way beyond normal bounds: his alcoholism and general irresponsibility actually cause the deaths of several other characters. Scott's peregrinations take from his home in Colorado to the slums and bohemian underworld of a Mexican town. There, confronts a seamy and labyrinthine corruption that tries to separate him from the love of his son. , the Father, won't let go, and that's the point. In my humble opinion, the message of the book is that an ultimately moving meditation on the ineffable, unmatchable love between a parent and a child should always be a close bond, ....