Onward Toward What We're Going Toward

Miscommunication reigns in Bartelmay's debut novel about the inevitable attrition of self-delusions. This sprawling narrative straddles two disparate timeframes as we follow the converging lives of Chic Waldbeeser and Mary Norwood in small-town Illinois. Married in 1950 at the age of 18, Chic is set up for failure early on after his new bride spies Lijy, Chic's Indian sister-in-law, giving her husband an intimate backrub at the wedding reception. This furtive attraction blows up further after Lijy gets knocked up by a local man and convinces Chic to assume responsibility for the baby in a ploy to keep her husband from leaving. In a parallel story%E2%80%94mostly set in the %E2%80%9890s%E2%80%94pool hustler Mary, still recovering from a heart-wrenching break up with her former manager, takes up with a wannabe bookie who whimsically moves her to Peoria, Illinois. Then, one night at the casino where she works, Mary notices Chic at the slots and decides to make a move. With Chic unable to let go of his troubled past%E2%80%94his sister-in-law's insidious lie, his failed marriage, the loss of his only son%E2%80%94the relationship goes through one false start after another. Sleuthing the distractions we entertain to cope with rejection and disappointment, Bartelmay's comic debut is a wistful take on the classic American reinvention tale. (Aug.)