By Heidi Simmons
—–
Dirt
by David Vann
Fiction
—–
Dysfunctional families are often found in literature. Perhaps reading about other families is a way to minimize our own family’s odd or despicable behavior. In David Vann’s Dirt (HarperCollins, 260 pages) a mother and son relationship cannot be cleansed.
Galen, a twenty-two year old mama’s boy who lives at home on the family estate, narrates the story. Galen and his mother, Suzie-Q, maintain a minimal life from what remains of a family trust.
Their Sacramento walnut orchard is now surrounded by new housing developments, but Galen and his mother live an isolated life. Cut-off from the world around them, they’re locked in a strange time-warp. Galen and his mother drink high-tea everyday with formal china and silver under an old fig tree. They eat sandwiches with the crust cut off. The story takes place in the mid 80s and everything they have is aging and they’re dirt poor.
Galen longs to go to college and see the world, but his mother says they can’t afford it. Resigned to his station in life, he instead reads Siddhartha, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet. He tries to practice eastern philosophy. Galen desires to be enlightened and rise above his existence; to be one with the universe. He is anorexic and bulimic.
The family matriarch, Galen’s grandmother, 70, has dementia. She is in a high-end care facility. Galen and his mother visit her often. She has many more years to live. Galen’s aunt Helen and cousin Jennifer want their share of the estate now, but Suzie-Q won’t give it up. Its purpose is solely for the grandmother’s care.
Jennifer is 17 and wants to use the money for college – so she says. Galen is in love with his cousin. Jennifer teases and sexually abuses the virginal Galen to the point of incest. However, he is grateful for the experience.
There is a mystery about the source of the family’s dysfunction. No one will talk about it. But it clearly has to do with violence and abuse of some kind. All Galen can get is little bits about his grandfather being a wife-beater.
Helen is an angry and violent person. She punches Galen and bruises his flesh. She pushes him hard to the ground and no one says or does anything to stop her.
The family takes a trip to their old cabin, supposedly a place of peace and good memories. The weekend becomes a nightmare of hostility and abuse. After a confrontation, it is finally revealed that there is over a million dollars in the trust that is specifically designated for the upkeep of the farm, healthcare and education.
Helen and Jennifer demand their piece of the pie and promise to never see the family again. Galen is so mad at his mother for lying and denying him an education, he can no longer tolerate her.
The story takes a turn for the worse, if that’s possible. Afraid of Galen, Suzie-Q takes action against him believing he could get help in prison. Galen finds himself unable to stop his rage against his mother and their quarrel spirals out of control.
Dirt is a sexually explicit story of incest and abuse. It is hard to take. But author Vann writes with short sentences and uses no quotation marks, which makes the read quick and easy, even if it’s hard to digest.
Although the characters are mostly despicable, there is a sadness and vulnerability about them. You wish they could get help. There is a curiosity and mystery in the story about what exactly triggered such hatred and why it is impossible for this family to find healing.
The level of violence and abuse that made them such ugly human beings is never fully explained. Galen and Jennifer are victims destined to play out learned behaviors.
As a narrator, Galen seems to be aware of his generationally passed dilemma, but doesn’t have the tools to change anything. As the only man in the family, he is hated. In a moment of clarity, he becomes aware that his mother and aunt are punishing him for the actions of his grandfather.
This is not a book for everyone and does not have a happy ending. But I liked the psychological honesty. I especially appreciate Galen’s quest to find a way to overcome his situation on the planet by seeking alternative philosophies. If he could only believe hard enough, he could walk on water.
I wanted Galen to find redemption and peace, even with his minimal education. I hoped in the end he would connect to a greater universe and earth spirit. Unfortunately, he is misguided and doesn’t have the emotional skills to rise above his predicament or see reality clearly. Galen goes over the top and that is hard to read. In the end he does indeed connect to the earth.
