Legacy

The importance of legacy haunts the Booth family throughout the novel, as each character is, in some sense, driven mad by the importance of their family name. No two characters experience this weight more than Edwin and John, the only children in the Booth family who have prophecies attached to them at birth. Edwin is the elder, and he often feels as though his own promised future has been dimmed or robbed by John's birth, as John's prophecy replaces his and John quickly becomes the favorite child of their mother. Making matters worse, John is outgoing and impressive as a young boy, while Edwin is quiet and reserved, often bullied by other children in Baltimore. The two brothers grapple eternally for control over the family legacy; it is this grappling that leads to disaster.

Curiously, though, Fowler seems less interested in prophecy and more interested in...