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| Autumn 2000 issue | . | The Inland Sea | |
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 The Inland Sea, Steven Varni’s debut novel, is the story of an
unhappy Italian-American family as seen through the eyes of its youngest son. Varni, a
1986 Notre Dame graduate, tells his tale through 12 interlocking vignettes divided into
two mirroring sections labeled "innocence" and "experience." The story
chronicles 25 years in the life of Vincent Torno, as he slowly comes to terms with his
emotionally tormented mother and oppressively domineering father. The novel follows
Vincent’s growing up in California’s San Joaquin Valley, then moving on to
college at an unnamed yet familiar Catholic university "not 50 miles from Lake
Michigan" (which he finds too conservative for his taste). And finally moving on to
Seattle and Manhattan where he takes a menial day job allowing him to write fiction at
night. Throughout the sojourn, Torno (the name is Italian for "I return")
revisits in memory and action the touchstone of his parents and their destructive
personalities as he struggles to understand them and his life. The novel, published by
William Morrow, received advance praise from Arthur Miller, Joan Didion and Oscar
Hujileos. Varni, who is working on a second novel and a collection of short stories, also
is gathering letters for a volume of Truman Capote’s correspondence to be edited by
Gerald Clarke. |
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