On Page 42: God is Dead

[God is Dead by Ron Currie Jr. Penguin Books 2008, paperback]

Ron Currie Jr’s God is Dead can be summed up as a group of short stories linked together by the effect on the world if it recognized that the physical embodiment of God died. Currie’s organization goes as far as to convince the reader that each piece is more than a linked vignette, but a robust story. For its big scary title, this collection would be disadvantaged by any other.

Page 42 lands a few pages into “Indian Summer.” This story focuses around a group of ten boys. Rick, their host allows them to spend the summer at his house as he slowly mentally unwinds. The valley is ravaged by fires, kid’s parents are killed in desperate fights over supplies, and life becomes a slow spiral of dwindling food and “booze.” The story spirals into group suicide-homicide, but before that we get page 42.

It acts as a function of setting the scene: both setting the tone and the physical stage. In opening up this world to the reader Currie’s prose reflect on the modern day. Twelve years after it was written it speaks to being stuck in perpetual sameness; a feeling any honest pandemic survivor can identify with.

In the physical setting, we get both the beautiful and the terrifying:

“[T]he night sky flashed a literal electric blue as transformers exploded on telephone

poles, and soon the power went out at Rick’s house. We lit candles, listened to the

crickets exult in summer’s last gasp…”

Each mark of beauty and simplicity is marred with ‘explosions’ and ‘gasps’ to lull the reader from a lazy summer into a twilight zone. The physical setting is in away preparing us for the mood of the story – a sense of familiarity wrapped up in horror.

At the top of the page we read, “The new reality kept interfering.” The first sign of a creeping dark tone. As the tone and mood of the narrative darkens, so does the diegetic mood: 

“Normally cheerful and fearless… since burying [Rick’s] parents he’d stalk through

the house, stiff and slow and silent.”

This tonal ambiance puts us in this grim feeling situation. Through Rick we see that “the new reality” has arrived. Currie’s setting with both the physical and tonal is effective in the isolated story and even more so in the story with context to the modern world.

Isolation, sudden mood shifts, and wildfires are very reminiscent of 2020. And although this text was written twelve years ago, it is able to encapsulate the feelings of the now. There’s a moment where Rick is wiping down and cleaning the house, however keeping things in their place, trying not to move forward. It reminded me of so many people in quarantine cleaning and waiting, and hoping things will go back to normal. Trying to gain back some normalcy with cleaning. But there is one line that stood out to me the most:

“But that wasn’t all of it. Beyond mere sadness, we were starting to feel trapped in a

perpetual now.”

It is fascinating how something from so long ago can speak to the moment, and although its not prophetic, it holds that same anxiety of gloom, and reminds us that people have felt this way before. Ron Currie Jr.’s God is Dead takes a big sounding title and uses it to write about very human feelings. Each story a bit surreal, but fully rooted in an emotional reality.

Since March, I’ve taken part in many repetitive conversations. I’ve avoided the same right-wing talking points and dealt with the maskless and free-nosers. My day job was essential and through the whole thing, I’ve watched as everybody became stuck in patterns of complaint. They let their fear drive them and in doing so harm people around them. The people making it worse for me are the same making it worse for them. We don’t need fear and division. We need courage to social distance and the honor to vote.

Help end our collective “perpetual now.”