Straight Through the Night (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Edward Allen
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The late 1970’s
- Setting: New York City and its northern suburbs
- Principal Characters: Charles (chuck) Deckle, Jill Clifford, Rowie Shapiro, Mack, Carl Miller, Chris Karbo
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Racism, New York City, Middle classes, Anti-Semitism, Suburban life, Butchers
- Locales: New York, NY
Chuck Deckle, the central figure in Edward Allen’s first novel, at first appears to be a romantic dreamer, He rhapsodizes about the feeling of driving through the pre-dawn darkness, watching the planet Venus, on his way to a new job. It becomes clear, however, that Deckle uses his fantasies to set himself apart from, and above, the people with whom he works; when he has tried to share his visions of beauty with them, they have failed to understand, and therefore they are less worthy than Deckle.
Deckle also uses his dreams to defend himself against the raw realities of the...
[The entire page is 2118 words long]
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