White Sucker explores challenges faced by cultures that have lost interest in children's human rights. Few novels present the issue of sexual abuse of children and adolescents in such a non-explicit manner as White Sucker. It is at once a mystery and adventure story and a tale of spiritual development. Its characters seek light in the darkness of the north Maine woods. Its genre is magical realism.
Thomas Halkett is a psychotherapist who works with children in two day-programs in rural Maine. He graduated from Yale University's Divinity School and spends as much time as possible at his remote camp.
Wallace thanked Frances, the Schooner's cook, for the sausages before sliding onto his new friend Jean's Harley Fat Boy. Wallace had hoped for something Prudhomme or even eggs, smelts, and fiddleheads for breakfast, but he had lost his temper, again, and why had he packed firearms instead of fishing reels into his deerskin haversack?
Yama finished her second breakfast of egg salad sandwich and JuicyJuice before hiding under the big canvas tarp at the camp's sawmill. She was certain her parents were dead. Maybe these people in the boat plane killed them. They said that they wanted to talk with the Girl. But it seemed to her that it would be a one-sided conversation.
Randall finished his breakfast of gin and limes. The only solid food he'd had in over a month. He knew his bank account was full but he also knew he wouldn't get out of these woods alive to make a withdrawal. Probably. You never knew.
Richard Bowen, the new President of the United States, picked at crumbs from two grilled muffins. They were way off his diet but not as far off as the biscuit and gravy that his aide smuggled in the previous day. He skimmed the white, black, and grey military and near- military operations' synopses and settled his attention on a pile of training missions and the last spoonful of Sumatran dark roast. The training missions were occasionally pleasantly hopeful and Training Operation Moose Hunt sounded like fun. He'd never been on a moose hunt. He thought that he should have adequate ordnance.
Thirteen Orthodox nuns focused on thirteen different perspectives of Saint George slaying the Dragon. They, like the medicine man Joseph, the Orthodox Priest Father Zosimos, and a host of others, hadn't eaten breakfast for some time. They believed prayer and fasting would draw enough light from darkness to kill many dragons that night, the Eve of St. George's Day and create safe places for the Girl and her friends. Eight hundred years really had been a quick trip. The nuns hoped a lot fewer people in the world would arrive at the breakfast table tomorrow. If so, many people would be happy but only a few would laugh.
