Dueling Voices

Child abuse and its horrifying aftereffects are explored in a pathbreaking novel, Dueling Voices, by Donald H. Carpenter, author of I Lost It at the Beginning and 101 Reasons Not to Murder the Entire Saudi Royal Family. Perry Hawkins, an advertising executive in his late twenties, narrates a critical week in his life. He discovers an unusual manuscript left behind by his dead father, who perpetrated the abuse upon him. While reading the manuscript, he recalls his early life and reflects upon the causes of his present-day problems. During the course of a week, he meets a young woman whom he suspects has also been subject to abuse. Their story, along with the disclosures he makes about himself and the discoveries he makes about his father, are the central subjects of this simply told yet complex story. Rarely have events of such a sensitive nature been told in such an indirect, ultimately enlightening manner. Some will find the story uplifting, while others will find it curiously downbeat. Only the reader can decide for certain his or her own individual reaction. Prepare to experience one of the most unique novels to appear in many years. Partly a mystery, partly an examination of a controversial aspect of society, and partly a diary of shocking self-discovery, it fits into no easily definable literary category. It is destined to become one of the most talked-about novels of all time. This is a revised version of the original edition published in 1993.