May we be forgiven, by A. M. Homes

By page 15, George Silver, a wealthy and successful TV network executive, has run a stoplight, killing two out of three occupants in a van; been arrested and released; and has come home and dealt a fatal blow to his wife.  But this isn’t his story, it’s his brother Harold’s.  Although Harold, a rather colorless history professor specializing in Richard Nixon and his era, is the older brother by 11 months, acquaintances always assume successful, and volatile, George is the elder.  To say Harold’s life changes radically after his brother is committed to a series of bizarre institutions while awaiting trial would be an understatement.  Almost 500 pages and a year after the opening events, Harold has been divorced by his wife;  dabbled in Internet sex; taken on his brother’s adolescent son and daughter as well as the child left orphaned by the crash and elderly parents of a mysterious and casual sexual partner; been involved in international intrigue; lost his teaching position; and on and on.  Somehow, Homes pulls this all off although one does feel that Job had it easy compared to Harold. Nate and Ashley, George’s children are particularly well-drawn.  The dark spirit of Nixon hangs over the tale.  Odd, often funny, and a page-turner.  480 pp.