In Cry Heaven, Cry Hell, the author tries to open our eyes to show that even with good intentions roads can be paved to Hell. The story follows three men who lived evil ways and then repented. Two of the men die, but one remains to either be held accountable for what they all did or to have their repentant behavior be figured into the yardstick of their collective judgment. The three men are: 1) An Irishman who wipes out an entire family and flees Ireland, 2) A descendant of an Amer-Indian ally of France, who aided France in the French/Indian War, and who is seeking revenge against her for a betrayal, and 3) An American Indian whose bitter life on a reservation was interrupted by adoption into a wealthy Boston family and seeks revenge against the white man by using the weakness of greed, just as the white man used the genetic difficulty the Indians had for alcohol against him.
If we are, indeed, the guardians of Democracy, then let us guard it and not fall asleep on our laurels or let the impersonal doctrines of guilt and innocence that we invent to hide our anger from ourselves take over the responsibility of making not only just, but also morally responsible decisions; for all the decisions we make go further than the courtroom. They enter into our professional family, and neighborly lives as well. A truly thought provoking must-read.
About the Author:
Howard Gordon, born and raised in Ohio, has attended Ohio University and Ohio State University. He obtained a master’s degree in the field of social work from Case Western Reserve University and has worked in a varied number of capacities within the field for over forty years. His first novel Be Not Thy Father’s Son was written over a five-year period and stresses that we must be our own person in a growing bureaucratic network that is destructive to individuality. Howard’s second novel entitled Cry Heaven, Cry Hell raises the question of how far do we go, as a society, in forgiving evil works when they are followed by good works and constructive behavior. He is currently working on his third novel.
