Love May Fail

February 16, 2015
Quick’s (The Good Luck of Right Now) latest is the story of Portia Kane, who leaves her millionaire porn-producer husband in Florida after discovering him in bed with a much younger woman. Portia flies back to her hoarding mother’s hovel in New Jersey, on a quest to find and save her favorite high school teacher—the reclusive Mr. Vernon, who disappeared after an attack by a bat-wielding student. The story unfolds through multiple points of view: those of Portia; the Camus-quoting, suicidal Mr. Vernon; Sister Maeve, Portia’s wry, acerbic seatmate on her flight home; Mr. Vernon’s estranged mother (revealed through her one-sided epistolary relationship with her son); and Chuck Bass, a long-sober heroin addict who shares Portia’s love of heavy metal and was also profoundly affected by Mr. Vernon. Though Portia’s story is the main thread, Quick captures the essence of these other characters better; in their own imperfections and in relationship to her, they are more interesting. Still, this darkly funny, profanity-filled novel fits together, jagged edges and all, and readers will be engrossed.