The Hartford Atonement

A mass shooting victim's wealthy grandfather takes on the gun industry in Barbara's novella. In a well-to-do suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, Emil Scordato's grandson Jack lies in a coma after being trampled in the rush to escape a mass shooting that killed 20 people--16 of them kids--at a high school wrestling match. It's not clear when (or if) he might regain consciousness. Emil's son Ted, Jack's father, reacts by drowning his trauma in gin and beer. Emil is a retired Wall Street trader with a net worth of $1.1 billion who is beginning to think about his legacy and view his past investments in the firearms industry in a new light. His congressman, a moderate Democrat, invites him to Washington to help lobby for a bill that would strip gun manufacturers of their protections from lawsuits, which conservatives fiercely oppose. Emil's guilt over profiting from gun stocks, Ted's drunken taunt that "some billionaire financier should take over the damn gun companies," and the realization that wealth is no protection against tragedy spur him to action. He conceives a bold and risky plan to attack the big gun makers financially by using complicated trading maneuvers to drive down their stock prices, even though it means he could lose his own fortune. The author, a seasoned journalist, writes well, establishing the dilemma at the heart of the story in a believable setting. The characters are realistic, though the women (Emil and Ted's wives) are largely peripheral. (The anti-gun theme is the center of the story; the characters serve it rather than growing as individuals.) The narrative reflects a cynical view of the political posturing and legislative dysfunction that prevent meaningful progress on the issue of gun violence year after year, despite its horrific toll; still, Barbara sheds light on the reasons for the long-running stalemate without demonizing either side, managing to find moments of humor amid the tragedy and even a glimmer of hope for the future. A clear-eyed and even-handed take on the scourge of gun violence.

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