CHARLENE

Under the watchful eye of her small-town neighbors in rural Virginia, an outsider struggles to belong in Helms’ novel.

Charlene Via, in her own estimation, is “a thirty-year-old woman that a lot of people around here say is…well, I’ll just say it—trashy.” Working behind the counter of a convenience store connected to a Marathon gas station, she is asked for advice and support from Luke Lyman, a 17-year-old German Baptist who was kicked out of his church, home, and job after his father discovered him looking at pictures of other men. Charlene lives in a trailer with limited space, but she thinks that the local Methodist pastor, Bob Munford, might be able to help Luke. Little does Charlene know that Bob is in the middle of his own self-proclaimed midlife crisis, breaking up with his wife and Jesus at the same time as he starts to doubt his purpose (“I feel like I’ve been living a lie for a long time, and I don’t want to start this new life with a bigger one”). The opening chapters alternate between the close third-person perspectives of Charlene and Bob, but the narrative expands once Bob tries to seek help for Luke. He contacts the church’s outreach director, who does not support Bob’s more open “liberal-like” ways and begins mounting a campaign that gets Bob barred from his own church by committee decision. He still invites Luke to stay with him before he’s kicked off the church property, but Luke soon runs away. While this is more than enough conflict to propel a novel, Helms continues to add complications by introducing Charlene’s abusive husband back into town. His actions soon escalate into a violent act, the aftermath of which takes up most of the novel’s second half.

While the narrative is a bit overlong and occasionally spins its own wheels in small-town melodrama, Helms’ development of the characters is consistently incisive. None among his collection of misfits comes across as a stereotype; each has their own backstory—including a colorful struggling songwriter and a town gossip who regularly meets with Pastor Bob despite being far from religious. Charlene, whom the reader eventually learns is of Melungeon heritage (“this mishmash of Portuguese and Black and Native American”) is particularly compelling in her attempts to transcend her past and present circumstances by bettering herself via community college and making connections with people of substance. The dialogue is sharp, capturing the rhythms and contradictions of small-town life with authenticity and wit (“We helped those people from Somalia a few years back and they were Moslems or Muslims or whatever they call themselves. I don’t see much difference. You don’t have to agree with somebody to help them”). As the story progresses, Helms continues to expand the novel’s supporting cast, introducing characters whose lives orbit around Charlene and Bob. These additional perspectives add texture and depth, though they occasionally divert attention from the core narrative. The text runs over 500 pages—the abundance of characters and subplots may stretch the patience of some readers who crave a tighter focus. Still, even with its sprawling scope, Helms ultimately succeeds in pulling the story’s threads together.

A compassionate, sometimes surprising, and always entertaining portrayal rising above a confining community.