This is loosely based on the Unabomber. What if he had a daughter and she had to betray him to the authorities? Jane Gillooly is the daughter. She’s kind of screwed up. An alcoholic. A person who only makes the loosest of commitments. She has no roots. Her mother remarried and then she had a stepbrother – Charlie Parker. He plays the sax and his wife was blown up by Jane’s father; the Professor. Later, when Charlie and his friend Nathan try to find the Professor, Nathan’s Jeep is bombed and he dies. Charlie lives though and is more determined to find the Professor than ever. He needs the letters he sent to Jane though.

This book was very lyrical. Almost poetic. One thing that did strike me funny is how emotional the men were. Charlie and his lost friend Nathan. Nathan’s fiancé was killed just before their wedding was to have taken place. Nathan’s wife befriends Charlie also and tells him that when Nathan was grieving he would actually put on his dead fiance’s wedding dress. And Charlie seems to be completely lost without Barbara. I think it only seems weird to me now because Ken is so controlled. I’ve rarely seen him show any extreme of emotion at all.

Each section of the novel is someone’s chance to speak. We hear from Jane, Charlie and the Professor. Each has their side to the story. In the end, Charlie has flown to DC and given all his evidence to the FBI. From there, they go to find the Professor. Jane has already gone up to his cabin and wants to know his side of it. I don’t think she ever really knows. He tells her to get out of the cabin and douses himself with gasoline. I actually cried when he killed himself. Cried over a random killer.

Personally, I think the Professor felt that he couldn’t do anything about the world despite his genius. He said at one point that he was an absolute genius but had never had an original idea. I think it was this frustration that led him to lash out at people he thought visible enough to make an impact. His impotence and low self-worth made him feel it was reasonable. He felt too that his brother Benjy was still alive and could walk with him, travel with him and eat with him. Benjy was the only person he ever truly loved or felt a part of. His coming back to life cemented the Professor’s final break with reality. ( )