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Rating:
This story depicts Henry Wolf’s life after the death of his wife. His wife was his “lifeline”. She was strong, stable and the glue that held Henry’s life together. Henry lives in a small town where his wife’s influence has made him “respectable” despite his idiosyncrasies – playing childish games with young children, befriending the homeless and street people, aimless strolls through town, picking up rocks, etc. With his wife gone, Henry struggles to find his independence, to find his place in life and in his community. Henry, somewhat eccentric, childlike, quirky sets out to live his life the way he believes it should be lived, not bending to pressure from his adult daughters or neighbors. He befriends an “undesirable” young lady, homeless people, and a young teenage boy. Henry reaches out to the young lady, Dixie, whose life has taken a bad turn, mixed up with drugs and sexual promiscuity; she sees no value to her life. The simple acceptance of Henry and his concern and care for her begins to make a difference in her, giving her the desire to change and to find value in her life. Danny, the teenage neighbor boy, finds a true friend in Henry as he faces his mother’s desertion and his father’s alcoholism. Henry teaches Danny to accept himself and to see good in his life. Henry’s daughter, Sharon, determines that her father is mentally unstable and incompetent of handling his own affairs. She files a petition to become his guardian. His daughter, Robin, becomes trustee over his finances until the court date. In order to have spending money, Henry takes a job at the local Drug Store as a sales clerk. This is the first job that Henry has held in many years. Robin is appalled that her dad is working and afraid he will embarrass the family by his friendliness and strange mannerisms. Sharon is consumed with her need for material possessions and sees her dad as the person preventing her achieving them because their Mother left all of her money to their dad. Sharon and Robin find themselves at odds with each other and have to face truths about their upbringing and their relationship with their parents and each other. Robin disagrees with Sharon’s petition against her father, and Henry chooses Robin as his lawyer to represent him against Sharon’s petition. The relationships between Henry and his friends and family climax on the date of his “competency” hearing. He is fired from his job, Dixie turns back to her drug use and her drug dealing boyfriend. Sharon bribes Dixie to testify against Henry, and other townspeople are convinced that Henry’s “innocent” beliefs have influenced a young child into trying to “fly” from a barn loft. The “family secret” that has haunted Henry for years is blurted out by Sharon and laid bare before the Judge and the community. Throughout the unfolding of the events, Henry’s strong faith in God and God’s control of our life situations is lovingly revealed through his acceptance of those around him. His unconditional love for his daughters and acceptance of their behaviors shows a father’s love, regardless of the pain it causes. As the situations in life spiral out of Henry’s control, his simple, childlike acceptance of God’s grace and goodness is evident. His trust does not waiver. At times this story was
“unbelievable” - the actions and relationships that developed because of
the ages of the main characters Henry, Dixie and Danny felt unreal.
However, by the final chapters, the author was able to tie all of the
characters, their actions, and the events of their lives together to make
it very believable. There was some use of “foul/strong” language that I
did not like but it was limited. What I like about the book is that the
author gives Henry’s character the ability to “feel” his sorrow and pain
but not in a way that it overwhelms or depresses the reader. Henry is not
afraid to take a stand, to care about people that are not “normal” or
accepted and find acceptance for him by not giving into society. Henry is
bold and loyal but at the same time he is naïve and unsure, making you feel
that you know him or relating him to someone that you know. Although the
message of Christ or a Christian lifestyle is not glaringly obvious, it is
the underlying theme throughout Henry’s life and the author allows us to
see Christ and to feel that we need a relationship with him to have peace
and contentment in our lives.
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