SHADOWS

In this novel, a widow in North Dakota protests the purchase of a new missile system to be based near her home—and her life is threatened as a result.

Edna O’Hare is a 78-year-old widow haunted by dreams of nuclear apocalypse. Her home is less than a mile away from an ICBM missile base, with her land spangled with Minuteman missiles like so many “poison mushrooms.” When she discovers the government intends to replace those missiles with a newer crop to the tune of billions of dollars, she is motivated to stage a protest at the base, a quixotic mission that only succeeds in getting her arrested. Her urgency and clarity are impressive: “One side will launch their rockets if they receive a warning that the other side has attacked. And they’ll do this even if the warning is a mistake. And then billions of people will die. We need to get rid of them.” Despite her demoralizing failure, she presses on, and her efforts finally begin to earn an audience while drawing the attention of powerful political figures with a vested interest in the new missiles, including her distasteful brother-in-law, Earnest. Edna’s life becomes endangered, and as her protests gather fellow travelers, she doggedly persists. Meanwhile, she befriends Makenna Washington, a missile launch officer from the local base. Edna learns that some of the other officers—the very people responsible for the missiles— are cheating on their military exams and recklessly using drugs. In this intriguing tale, Manos artfully juxtaposes the lightsomely eccentric with the gravely serious. Edna is a charmingly peculiar woman—she often dons a witch’s hat—who becomes obsessed with an issue of infinite importance. That said, the plot becomes overly congested with subplots, and the cast of characters in turn prolifically multiplies, creating more distractions than additional dramatic interest for readers. But this is a gripping work of fiction, both morally challenging and politically astute.

A thoughtful and provocative thriller that’s delightfully quirky as well.