The Violent Child

by Michael Sheridan and Michael Sheridan

Teddie Durban is a college English professor who visits his elderly mother, Lorraine, at her inner-city apartment. Cigarettes and alcohol have stolen the health of the bony, blue-haired woman, yet Teddie glimpses the two-fisted young steelworker beneath the sagging skin and bloated belly -- the alley fighter, the body puncher, a woman fully able to bully life into a corner, then apply fists, feet, and teeth.Teddie and Lorraine spend the evening drinking...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579620353
• ISBN13: 9781579620356
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Permanent Press (NY)
• Length: 221 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Novel

The Violent Child is a beautifully written novel which explores relationships between generations and classes, perception, and the nature of reconciliation and forgiveness. The well developed characters drew me in immediately, from feisty Lorraine, to the intellectual and introspective adult Teddy. I wish the novel could have been longer, so I could have seen more of all the other characters, who, no matter how small their part, jumped off of the page for me. One of the things that I enjoyed was that the author allowed the action of the characters to unfold the story before me, instead of summarizing already described events for me, as I have been disappointed to find in some novels. There is a wonderful contrast between the language used by the various characters, and also between the young and the adult Teddy, which also serves to mark Teddy's transition to a different way of life in his adult years. While I achieved a deeper understanding of the characters and themes with a more careful second reading, I think the novel can be enjoyed on many different levels.