cover image End of the Empire

End of the Empire

Denise Ohio. St. Martin's Press, $16.95 (150pp) ISBN 978-0-312-09282-5

If the contrived symbolism in this self-consciously allusive second novel (after The Finer Grain ) fails to hit the reader over the head, then the glaring predictability of its ending will compensate for the missed blow. In the small town of Cascade, Ore., the four main characters work together at a majestic but decaying movie house. Dante happens upon her former lover, Jewel, when she breaks from her motorcycle travels to take a job at the Empire. Jewel, who runs the concession stand, rekindles her affair with Dante. Meanwhile, Donnie, the projectionist and an aspiring artist, discovers his muse in Jewel and pursues her vehemently. Virgil, the Empire's owner/janitor and a religious zealot, decides his erotic obsession with Jewel is a manifestation of a sacred temptation ritual. But despite evocative details used to individuate these characters--an eye patch for Dante, family ghosts for Jewel, a previous marriage for Donnie, a bout with a lightning bolt for Virgil--their personalities remain largely undeveloped. Their names epitomize the novel's lack of subtlety: Jewel is, of course, a ``gem,'' objectified by the men and sought as treasure, while the freight-train impact of a wanderer named Dante who encounters a Virgil needs no further comment. (May)