If the River Was Whiskey (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: T. Coraghessan Boyle
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: Probably the 1970's or 1980's
- Setting: A lake in the mountains
- Principal Characters: Dad, Caroline, Tilden (“Tiller”)
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Parents and children, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Nature, Restaurants, bars, taverns, or pubs, Dreams, 1980’s, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Fathers, Unemployment or unemployed workers, Depression, mental, Drinking or drunkenness, Hollywood, Public relations, Fishing or fishermen, Comedy, Satire, Lakes
- Locales: California, Connecticut, New York, Mexico, Ireland, Maine, Quebec, Canada, Latin America, Nicaragua
The Story
Tilden, a sixth-grader who is also called “Tiller,” is the son of an unemployed alcoholic father. In a vain effort to turn his life around, the father, his wife, Caroline, and Tiller have gone to spend a month at Caroline's father's cabin on a lake. Caroline sits in her deck chair watching as Tiller rises to the surface of the lake where he has been snorkeling, jumps out of the water, and immediately casts a fishing line into the water. Back at the cabin, Tiller's depressed father pours himself a tall vodka and soda from a plastic half-gallon jug, although it is...
[The entire page is 1445 words long]
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