Women and Men

There is a clear pattern in the tale of Karabekian's life where he exposes the evils committed by men against each other and against women - both large and small-scale.

Dan Gregory's father abused him. He, in turn, abused Marilee. Terry Kitchen shoots his father and then turns the gun on himself. Marilee was exposed to much abuse in her youth, and in Italy she recruits servants who have been damaged by men, including someone whose husband plunged her hands into boiling water. And while Karabekian was not physically abusive, he was an absent father and an absent husband to Dorothy.

Larger-scale, Karabekian recognizes that after World War One, America had turned against war and strived for peace. In no time at all, however, Pearl Harbor brought them back into the fray of World War Two. The fighting killed many, physically maimed others, and psychologically damaged...