The Narrows

Diane Donovan
Senior Reviewer
Midwest Book Review
Author of San Francisco Relocated

Readers who appreciate literary thrillers—those a cut above the norm in character development and plot—will find The Narrows just the ticket for a read that goes beyond entertainment value alone.

The Narrows is the second book in the 'Raymond Hatcher Stories' series, both complimenting A Lion in the Grass and standing alone as a continuation of the family's story. Set on Cape Cod, it explores first cousins Bradley Wright and Larry Brown as they navigate life.

Larry Brown is on a mission to rescue his cousin from a religious cult group. He's working with Black Lightning, who is intent on not just rescue but deprogramming cult members from their training and influences.

There's much more happening in this story than an effort to rescue a family member, however. In the course of embarking on this journey far from his comfort zone as a book nerd and teacher, Larry finds that he, too, is reassessing life, his role in it, his dreams, and his influences.

Mark Zvonkovic's focus on Larry's growth process and revelations is wonderful. His laser eye captures nuances of Larry's introspection and evolution in a thought-provoking, literary manner designed to both provide psychological inspection and high drama. 

It should be advised that this story comes with many in-depth reflections. Those who look for succinct writing might think that some editing could have better shortened these sections, but part of the power of this tale lies in its interconnected thoughts: "Frankness is not a quality one finds in any great abundance in most people. Actually, seldom in your life do you run across a person who is completely frank. I don’t mean just an honest person, who may refrain from speaking his mind on occasion to spare your feelings. I mean someone who will step right up and tell you you’re a dumb ass when you need him to. The problem is that most people, by their nature, are indirect. I don’t know whether it’s a matter of solicitude, by which I mean that people are generally reluctant to confront you with an observation that might distress you, or a matter of insecurity, by which I mean that when you make a frank, personal statement to someone, you often reveal as much about yourself as about the person you are addressing."

As Larry's perspective changes, readers receive a story that juxtaposes dreams, memories, and schemes with a winning story of transformation and changing relationships on many levels.

Presenting Larry's dilemmas in the first person also allows for a level of understanding that emphasizes the movement he makes in accepting himself, his place in the social and political world, and his motivations and influences: "Time has no respect for what befalls you, I thought as I walked toward Millie’s with my hastily written note clutched in my pocket. You can sail your life’s course with the smoothest of tacks, until one day you’ll awaken and before the day is over your dog will die, your sister will get hit by a car and there will be a coup in Chile. There’s no sense in it. It’s as if all these occurrences were discrete little segments delivered to you in those compact little boxes that take-out Chinese food comes in."

Newcomers who look for novels replete in psychological and social inspection, as well as prior readers of the Raymond Hatcher family's evolution, will find The Narrows powerfully employs dialogue, philosophical and psychological reflection, and a slice-of-life feel so expansive that it's hard to believe the timeline embraces only ten pivotal days in the narrator's life. The changes that affect an ordinary teacher's goals are remarkably astute in their scope and presentation.

Its special blend of psychological inspection with components of thriller reading will delight literary seekers of quality fiction.

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Sujani S (Reviewer), Instagram

The Narrows is a human drama of errors and beliefs. It is not a routine thriller, in spite of elements of cult and a rescue mission. It is an interesting character study, but it also offers an insight into the changing face of cultural parameters in the 1970s in the US.

Larry Brown, the protagonist is a school teacher and an intellectual. He comes across as a little narcissistic and eccentric. He has his own issues - his attached detachment with his family, the pressures of his job and a cheating girlfriend, who dominates him. He has a best friend he relies on and things start changing when he learns that one of his cousins has joined a religious cult.

Cults are fascinating subjects for novels. It never ceases to amaze me that people blindly believe in these establishments, but when we think a little more, we understand that people are desperate for a way to deal with the failings and disappointments in life. And there is always that existentialist question which the cults capitalize on - What is life? This book makes a great attempt to understand what cults are and how people are hoodwinked.

The conversations and the writing are delightful. I always tend to enjoy books that are character/ dialogue-driven and I had fun reading all the humorous and deep interactions of the characters. The people of the story make you smile, they also frustrate you with their bad choices, but they are all interesting and real. That’s where the author wins. But I did wish some plot points could’ve been rounded up in a better way and I wanted a little more structure to the chapters and the story at times.

Grady Harp
AMAZON HALL OF FAME TOP 100 REVIEWER

Baja California author Mark Zvonkovic practiced corporate law until his retirement. Now he turns to writing novels that not only relate fine-tuned stories, but also deal with psychological and social issues and provide an opportunity for introspection. To date he has published two novels – A LION IN THE GRASS and THE NARROWS - both comprising THE RAYMOND HATCHER STORIES.

Of special note, THE NARROWS is set in the1970s – that growingly interesting period of change that deserves revisiting and inspecting. Not only because of the altered culture of a country in response to the Vietnam War, the rise of women’s rights, gay rights, environmental movements, the Watergate scandal, the hippie movement, et al, but also the rise of extremist groups, such as James Jones – the American cult leader, political activist, faith healer, leader of Peoples Temple started in Indianapolis, Indiana, then moved to San Francisco, California, then Jonestown, Guyana with the infamous mass Kool-Aid suicide debacle.

Zvonkovic uses this tumultuous period as the timeframe for his story. The narrator, Larry Brown, opens the gate, describing his friend Hal - ‘Hal and I have been good friends since September of 1968 when we met in or assigned dorm room as freshmen. One would have never guessed at the time that a friendship would develop. He was a jock and I was a book nerd…I suspect that the real glue of our friendship is a remarkable proclivity in each of us to be absolutely frank with each other…’

The story is mesmerizing – ‘A harrowing extraction of members of a religious cult goes awry. Cerebral and insecure junior high teacher Larry Brown, the narrator of the novel, teams up with experienced extractor (“deprogrammer”) nicknamed Black Lightning to rescue his cousin from a cult. But the mission is complicated by Larry’s unfaithful girlfriend and the drowning of another cult member in the Charles River. And then Larry’s cousin isn’t as willing as Larry hoped. These events work together on a day in a family vacation home on Cape Cod to turn Larry’s world upside down. The rescue of the cult members is secondary to the development of Larry’s character and his struggle to make sense of his place in a time when many of his fellow baby-boomers were reeling against the conformist ideology of the post-World War II “Establishment.” Larry’s struggle is depicted through a first person, present tense narrative that spans a ten-day period utilizing dialogue, interior monologue, reminiscence and the cult extraction plot.’

Meditative in mode of presentation, biting in impact, this is a solid novel from a writer who knows his ilk.

Interviews

FQ: What inspired you to write about the issue of cults during this era?

MZ: I did have a friend who experimented with cults, but not nearly to the extent as Bradley. Actually, I learned most of what is in the novel about cults much later, after I first started writing the novel in 1993 or 1994. I actually needed something that could develop the characters in the novel and the struggle with ideals. I thought about having Bradley being a returning soldier from Vietnam, but after some research decided that the cult experience from those years, particularly the real life dramas being played out in the news concerning Black Lightning, was a better platform.

To read the rest of the interview, click here.