Bardo
By Emily Gallo ‘67
Stepping into one of Emily Gallo’s novels is like meeting up with old friends. Bardo is the fifth of her books that I have read, and characters I met before reappear in surprising ways. Minor characters in one book come into the spotlight in another. Luther, who was finally exonerated of a murder charge after 20 years in prison, finds himself once again unjustly in the crosshairs of the law. Jeb, the hero of three of the other books, arranges for his friend to lie low in New York with his old mentor, the hard-drinking sardonic Irish writer Finn.
Though both Luther and Finn are at their core generous and empathetic, their surface qualities could not be more different. Luther is innocent in more ways than one. Having been locked away for his young adult years, he has trouble keeping up with the witty irony of his protector.
Much of the book is a road trip across the United States in a Chrysler Le Baron convertible that dates form the ‘80’s. The journey is an adventure, and there is much suspense in Luther’s scary situation. You will have to read the book to find out what the title means. I will say, it does not mean what you might think.
