I really went back and forth with myself on whether I should review “A Hole in the Earth.” It had some interesting themes and I found the overall concept intriguing, but it does have some language in it. Back and forth I went, trying to decide, and then I said to myself (I really do talk to myself) “Tristi, present the book to them and then they’ll decide for themselves.” So that’s what I’m going to do.
Our main character is Henry Porter, and the book is written from his point of view. He starts by telling us that because of the events of that summer, he decided to disappear from the world for a while. Taking along plenty of money, he went underground, literally, riding the subway back and forth all day long. When he got hungry, he’d emerge wherever he was and find a food vendor. He slept at homeless shelters and didn’t go home for several weeks on end. I was immediately intrigued; what had happened to make him want to escape from life that badly?
He then takes us to the beginning of the summer. He woke up one morning with the idea of going to the race track. He’d already handicapped the first two races and felt sure he could win them. But as he was getting ready to leave, he gets a knock at the door, and there stands his estranged daughter, just graduated from high school. He hasn’t seen her since she was thirteen and pudgy, and now here she is, slim and eighteen, and come to see him. Her friend Sam came along as well, and they essentially move in for the summer.
Henry’s girlfriend Elizabeth then surprises him with the announcement that she’s pregnant. He’s thrown for a loop. Ever since his first marriage fell apart, he’s thought of himself as a loser in the marriage department, and certainly in the fatherhood department. He has an immediate reaction of fear, but given some time, he comes to want to marry her and raise the child, even though she has told him that she’s fine going it alone if he doesn’t want to be involved.
But then a terrible accident happens, and he’s forced to evaluate himself, his relationships, and his entire moral structure. This is where the book really became interesting to me, watching him view his life through these new lenses and realize that he hasn’t half lived up to his potential.
Once again, I do warn that there is some language, and if you happen to be sensitive to language, you may want to let this one pass. But, if you would like to give it a try, I’ve taken the liberty of marking down some page numbers where some of the more objectionable things are, so you can skip around and get the meat without most of the gravy lumps.
If you’ve got the hardback edition, skip the bottom of page 32, the top of page 90, the center of page 91, the top of page 124, the top of page 143, the top of page 146 through the end of the chapter, the bottom of page 188, the center of 191, the bottom of 233, and then also 250 through the end of the chapter. The link above, I’m afraid, does take you to a paperback volume, but I wasn’t able to find one to a hardback. I recommend looking at your library, which probably has the hardback right on the shelf for you.
(This book was published by Harcourt in 2000.)
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