Joyce Carol Oates' novel of personal pain plays out against a backdrop of social issues in a small New York town in the 1950s and '60s. The two main characters, Iris Courtney, a white girl, and Jinx Fairchild, a Negro boy, come from different worlds that collide when Jinx accidentally murders an obnoxious boy, Little Red Garlock, who has threatened Iris. This heinous act joins Iris and Jinx forever in their secret about Little Red but societal issues prevent any true exploration of their friendship and bond.
Iris is the only child of Duke and Persia Courtney, a dashing couple whose marriage eventually ends when middle age and bad fortunes force them to part. So unlike her vivacious parents, Iris spends her childhood wishing she had a normal life like her classmates but realizes that nothing, not.....
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