Book Talk: Whitaker, ‘We Begin at the End’

Chris Whitaker is a like a lyric writer who composes songs of unrequited love and burning hate in equal measure. I’ve read only two of his books, but I’m ready to nominate him as a national treasure. He grabs his readers’ hearts and twists them until they bleed both compassion and despair. In “We Begin at the End,” (2020, 367 pages in softcover format), he brings us “the agony and the ecstasy” of life in diverse communities.

The book opens in the picturesque coastal town of Cape Haven, California, site of the tragic death of a young girl, Sissy Radley. Many years ago, her body was discovered by Walk (Police Chief Walker, head of a two-person law enforcement department), and Vincent King is in prison, having been convicted of committing her murder. However, the circumstance of the girl’s death is an unexplained mystery, but King suffers self-imposed punishment for the crime. His cell is devoid of TV, radio, books, or any distractions from the bars and bare walls. He’s also killed another inmate in self-defense, although he accepts responsibility and an added 20 years to his sentence.

Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old “outlaw” who “mothers” her younger brother Robin and cleans up after her substance-abusing single mother Star. In turn, this poverty-stricken family is watched over by Walk, who manages to turn a blind eye to Duchess when she steals, fights, or causes mayhem while venting her hostility.