“There were times when the father showed me most clearly what I would become, and that, certainly is a kind of gift if not a blessing”. This is a line from The Higher Blue, the fifth and final tale in David Vann’s collection ‘ Legend of a Suicide. What strikes me is the use of the definite article – why ‘the father’ and not ‘my father’? The answer lies in Vann’s attempt to objectively come to terms with the real life death of his father by suicide. The fiction is his way of unlocking the burden of this personal tragedy which makes for a curious and not always successful blend of autobiography and flights of dark fantasy. It depicts the unshakable bond between his 13 year self (Roy) and father (Jim) who has failed as a husband, dentist and fisherman: “Roy was part of a large despair that lived everywhere his father went”.
My Penguin paperback edition has 228 pages of which 164 are taken up one long story. In other words it is a novella (Sukkwan Island) framed by four short stories and the novella set in the wilderness of Alaska is easily the stand out piece. To say why without spoilers is impossible but, suffice to say, that at its best it has the intensity and economy of Cormac McCarthy. While the rest of Vann’s collection tends to slow, reflective and rambling, this story (particularly the second part told from the father’s perspective) has a momentum and tightness that is truly gripping. For this story alone, I’d recommend it.
