Timothy Schaffert The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God

The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God

Timothy Schaffert

Unbridled, Nov 2005, $14.95, 256 pp.

ISBN: 1932961

Hud Smith feels lonely since his wife Tuesday divorced him, and he only sees his eight year old daughter Nina sporadically, especially when his ex turns vindictive; his seventeen year old son Gatling never visits him. He knows Tuesday is not at fault, as Gatling joined the traveling Daughters of God punk-gospel band. Hud realizes he is hurting as he fantasizes about running away with his beloved, Nina and even commiserates with an executed killer who murdered his wife and children, writing mournful country ballads, odes to his woes.

A desperate Hud wants his family back with him. He persuades Tuesday that they must "rescue" Gatling, so they hit the road in a school bus he "borrows" in search of their son. As he dreams of reconciliation, he knows he must do what is right for his family, even if that means no second chance with Tuesday, but that thought is killing him.

Hud is an eccentric protagonist whose ramblings, asides and actions, feel in some ways like a gender bending, almost forty-ish chick lit, make that hunk tale. Hud hurts as he misses seeing his daughter on a regular basis, and though he insists he hates Tuesday, he knows he also yearns to be back in her life as her spouse. Readers will feel for him, though believing he deserves much of the misfortune that has fallen on him; that is why this character study is so engaging, even when the plot turns soap opera-ish as Timothy Schaffert obtains dueling emotions from his awed audience.