The Sunlight Dialogues
The
Sunlight
Dialogues
The Sunlight Dialogues
John Gardner
To Edmund Epstein
Contents
II
When the Exorcist Shall Go to the House of the Patient …
VII
The Dialogue on Wood and Stone
IX
“Like a robber, I shall proceed according to my will.”
XIII
Nah ist—und schwer zu fassen der Gott
XVIII
The Dragon’s Dwelling-Place and the Court for Owls
XX
Winged Figure Carrying Sacrificial Animal
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
(All characters in this novel except for May Brumstead, Mr. Perkowski, Pete Mollman, and Dr. T. M. Steele, are purely fictitious.)
Fred Clumly
(b. 1902), Chief of Police, Batavia, N.Y., 1957–1966
Esther Clumly,
his wife
The Sunlight Man,
a lunatic magician
The Hodge Family:
Arthur Hodge Sr,
U.S. Congressman, builder of Stony Hill Farm
Will Hodge Sr,
his eldest son, a Batavia attorney
Millie Jewel Hodge,
Will Sr’s wife (divorced, 1964)
Clarence Jewel,
her father
Gil,
her favorite brother, a suicide at eighteen
Will Hodge Jr,
son of Will Sr and Millie, a successful Buffalo attorney
Louise,
his wife, mother of their children Madeline and Danny
Mary Lou Hodge Carter,
daughter of Will Sr and Millie, wife of
George Carter
Luke,
Will Sr’s youngest son, a farmer
Arthur Hodge Jr,
the Congressman’s second son, an electrician, a man of system; father of seven daughters
Ruth Hodge Uphill,
the Congressman’s daughter, married to the brother of the Fire Chief in Batavia
Ben Hodge Sr,
the Congressman’s fourth child, a farmer and man of religion
Vanessa,
his wife
Ben Jr,
his son; died in the Korean War
Nick
and
Vemon Slater,
young Indians paroled into the custody of Ben Hodge Sr (The elder, Nick, was later transferred to Luke Hodge)
David,
Ben Sr’s Negro hired boy, also a parolee
SECONDARY CHARACTERS
THE POLICE:
Dominic (“Miller”) Sangirgonio,
Clumly’s right-hand man
Jackie,
his wife
Tommy (“Einstein”),
his son
Stan Kozlowski,
Prowlcar 19; son of a farmer
Mickey Salvador,
eighteen, a guard in the city jail
His mother
His grandmother,
a seer
John (“Shorty”) Figlow,
sergeant at the desk; a nervous man, unhappily married
Borsian,
a State Trooper
Baltimore,
Negro janitor in Batavia City Jail
CITY OFFICIALS:
Walt Mullen,
Mayor
Judge Sam White,
brother to Congressman Edward (“Ted”) White
Phil Uphill,
Fire Chief
Jerome Wittaker,
Mayor Mullen’s assistant
OTHERS:
R. V. Kleppmann,
a confidence man and survivor
Mrs. Kleppmann,
his wife
Walter Boyle,
a thief
Walter Benson,
a good citizen living in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.
Marguerite,
his wife
Oliver Nuper,
the Bensons’ boarder
Gretchen Niehaus,
one of Nuper’s mistresses
Albert Hubbard,
owner of a nursery inherited by his sons
The Woodworth Sisters: Agnes
(deceased),
Editha
(aged 108, a poetess), and
Octave
(aged 97), daughters of Rev. Burgess Woodworth, original pastor of the Batavia First Baptist Church
Clive Paxton,
owner of a trucking firm; father of Kathleen Paxton
Elizabeth,
his wife
Professor Combs,
her elderly lover
Freeman,
a rootless wanderer
MINOR CHARACTERS
(A SELECTION)
Merton Bliss,
the last of the New York State liars
Robert Boas,
a drunkard
May Brumstead,
beloved matron of the Batavia Children’s Home
Ed Burlington,
a news reporter, former Sunday School student of Mrs. Clumly
Helene Burns,
a teacher; good friend of Taggert Hodge
Dr. Burns,
a psychiatrist
Bill Churchill,
a professional mourner
Edna,
a madam
Bob Faner,
next-door neighbor of Will Hodge Sr
Mr. Hardesty,
neighbor of Luke Hodge
Pete Mollman,
a publisher and printer in Millstadt, III.
Harold (“Buz”) Marchant,
a Chicago physician, friend of Will Jr
Mrs. Palazzo,
Will Hodge Sr’s landlady
Mr. Perkowski,
a Batavia grocer
Jeff Peters,
friend of Millie Hodge
Chief Poole,
Batavia Police Chief when Clumly was young
Raymond,
hired man to Will Sr when he ran Stony Hill
Solomon Ravitz,
Buffalo TV personality
Dr. Rideout,
Genesee County Coroner
Rosemary,
a madam
The Runian Sisters,
former occupants of Luke Hodge’s farmhouse; murdered by their nephew and hidden in the manure pile
T. M. Steele,
well-known Batavia physician and surgeon
Walt Sprague,
last of the true Upstate New York Republicans
Bob Swift,
a foolish newsman
Rev. Warshower,
Will Hodge Sr’s minister
Rev. Willby,
Esther Clumly’s minister
The earth in its devotion carries all things, good and evil, without exception.
—THE I CHING
Riding horses in a back pasture, gone wild. Woods. Inside, on a hill, a house as black as dinosaur bones. Grass grows up through the driveway’s broken asphalt, but there is a car. This is the house of the oldest Judge in the world. The Judge has company.
“Take any ordinary man, give him a weapon—say,
x
caliber—” (he chuckled wickedly) “—put him in the middle of a wilderness with enough ammunition to fire three times in four directions—these are Holy numbers—and behold! you’ve created order.” He blew out smoke like dust.