Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson: A review
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Pete Snow is a walking contradiction. As a social worker for the Department of Family Services in Montana, he spends his working hours trying to rescue troubled and often neglected or abused children. He is preternaturally kind, patient, helpful, and non-judgmental. But off the job, we see that Pete is no stronger than the people he is charged with helping. Perhaps he has such empathy for them because he is just like them. He is an alcoholic, a failed husband and father. He is estranged from his own father and brother. He is, in short, a mess. Anguish seems to be his natural default emotion. We meet Pete in a family scene where a young girl is nearly drowned by her drunk father. It turns out that the father is Pete. His unfortunate daughter, Rachel, lives in a household with two dysfunctional, alcoholic parents. She really needs a social worker to save her. But she is not so fortunate. Eventually, the parents separate and...