The Suicide House: A novel
Date
2014-01
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MFA in Creative Writing, The University of Tampa
Abstract
Jamie Lorne doesn’t understand why her mother is abandoning the family. This isn’t the first time her mother has left, after all. The last time was fourteen years ago when Jamie was three years old. She doesn’t remember much about that situation, except that her older brother was angry, her baby brother was cared for by a surly nanny, and her father turned to alcohol to drown his loneliness. These hidden memories begin to awaken when Jamie and her friends explore the site of a recent suicide, manifesting themselves as shadows and voices that urge her to hurt herself. Fortunately, many forces help Jamie stay both safe and sane. Her loyal friends act out a role-playing game, in which Jamie assumes a fearless character who can deal with any situation. Mason, a skater boy with perfectly crooked teeth and smiling eyes, keeps the horrid cockroaches at bay and her troubles in perspective. Her two brothers give insight to her past while relating to her present plight. Even the animals that live inside the Suicide House instinctively stop her from harming herself.
Most of the novel is set in a suburb of Tampa, Florida. It takes place in modern times over the course of two months, beginning a few weeks prior to Halloween and ending a few days after Thanksgiving. In the first part of the story, Jamie struggles with her feelings about her mother and how the situation affects her family. She and her friends begin exploring the Suicide House and Jamie meets Mason and his friend Gene, who both have issues with their mothers. In the second section, the family takes a trip to Washington DC to visit her mother where she gains information about her past and about her mother’s motivations for moving. Upon their return to Tampa, the family struggles through Thanksgiving without Jamie’s mother. Friend troubles abound as Jamie has a one-sided conflict with her best friend, Sarah, and Mason’s friend, Gene, attempts to commit suicide. Moving into the final portion of the book, Jamie’s father flies back to Washington DC and Jamie heads to Ybor City with Mason, leaving younger brother Pete alone. As the book comes to a climax, Pete goes missing, Mason treats Jamie badly, and a secret about Jamie’s best friend is revealed. A frightening event takes place at the Suicide House, and as Jamie attempts to find Pete, her memories finally work their way free. In the end, she confronts her mother and comes to terms with the fact that her mother is not perfect and never will be.
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Keywords
Tampa, Florida, Abandonment, Family, Secrets, Suicide