Summary

The third chapter of the novel, “Nothing But A Burning Light,” describes the difficult upbringing of Allmon Shaughnessy in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is concurrent to the privileged upbringing of Henrietta Forge in nearby Paris, Kentucky. Allmon is the son of a white man, a long-distance trucker named Mike Shaughnessy, and a black woman, named Marie Marshall. Because Mike is around less and less as Allmon is a toddler, he and Marie are forced to move into a smaller apartment in a rough neighborhood of Cincinnati. When Allmon is four, he is told that Mike will be in town, and the entire family is going to the carnival together. However, when Mike returns, and is tasked with watching Allmon while Marie is at work, he simply drinks himself to sleep. Allmon runs from the apartment down to the...