false 3 0 false false Mon Nov 09 13:39:02 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 05:41:55 -0800 2009 Ensconced in an ancestral upstate manse and fortified with family-derived funds, he is committed to a solitary existence and intent on an early demise. Hugo continues to smoke profusely even though it exacerbates- to the point of fatality- a diagnosed medical condition. To counter the chronic pain, he adheres to a strict regimen of alcohol and Oxycontin, as well as the occasional diversionary sex.
Complications to his agenda arise however when a flurry of events deposits his just separated brother, a distant wife and possible daughter, and "Fag Uncle Tommy" at his door. Then there is his sister-in-law, the brother's mistress-to-be and her possibly pedophile husband, and Schlomo/Pete Stravinsky- the hit man. The isolationist policy becomes a bit untenable.
Fortunately, Christensen resists the temptation to soften the character's resolve, and have him- definitively at least- swayed by these increasing interactions. There's a slight trace of a certain newfound spirit of family connectivity, but nothing unpleasantly warm and fuzzy. She doesn't jettison Hugo's nastiness or disdain for sentimentality.
The conclusion, though not wholly satisfying- whether one hopes for either emphatic Light or Dark- is perhaps in actuality how life ultimately is, unresolved. ]]>