Driftless (58 page)

THE EASTER HOUSE

David Rhodes

“
The Easter House
offers the tale of another tormented Midwestern clan, but in its pages no border exists between everyday life and the super-real. I wouldn’t trade a word of
The Easter House
for anything.”

—
New York Times Book Review

“Rhodes proves that there is still vigorous life in the dark Gothic roots of great American novels.”

—
Tennessean

“This is [an almost impossible book to put down,] with its forceful narrative and striking characters. Rhodes is a brilliant writer and
The Easter House
a moving literary experience.”

—
Cleveland Plain Dealer

 

The largest residence in Ontarion, Iowa, looms over the town and three generations of the Easters. Ansel Easter—a minister favored by the townspeople until he rescued a Caliban-like creature from a carnival sideshow—paved a difficult path for his sons, C and Sam. After Ansel’s violent death, no one in town was surprised when his children abandoned the house their father built in search of a new beginning.

Unable to shake Ansel’s burdensome legacy from afar, the brothers return separately to the house. C and his wife start a junkyard in the expansive lawn of the Easter house and barter used appliances, cars, and random items for necessities. Eventually, C and Sam create a more lucrative business: the Associates, a group of men offering services for a fee. When a rash of deaths occur and the Ontarions suspect the Associates, the sins of the father appear to revisit the sons.

Shocking and suspenseful,
The Easter House
is an engrossing story of family redemption and survival. Originally published in 1974, David Rhodes’ second novel captures the oppressive somnolence of a small community while intertwining elements of the American gothic tradition, illuminating the strangeness that lurks beneath the surface.

 

 

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Interior design by Wendy Holdman

Typeset in Dante by BookMobile Design and Publishing Services

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

© 2008, Text by David Rhodes

 

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher:

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Published 2009 by Milkweed Editions

 

 

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Library of Congress

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rhodes, David, 1946-

eISBN : 978-1-571-31800-8

1. Wisconsin—Fiction. 2. City and
town life—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3568.H55D75 2008

813’.54—dc22

2008020881