Dominion by Addie E Citchens review
The violence of male entitlement is embodied in the charismatic son of a Mississippi pastor, in a sharp portrait of cruelty and inheritance
TL;DR
- The novel 'Dominion' by Addie E Citchens is set in the fictional town of Dominion, Mississippi, at the turn of the millennium.
- It centers on the Winfrey family, a prominent Black church family, and their youngest son, Emanuel, nicknamed Wonderboy, who is both gifted and terrifying.
- The narrative explores themes of male entitlement, religious hypocrisy, and inherited patterns of masculinity and female submission.
- The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Priscilla Winfrey and Diamond, Wonderboy's teenage girlfriend.
- Wonderboy's transgressive behavior and violent outbursts are central to the plot, highlighting the normalization of male damage.
- The novel is noted for its humor, sharp prose, and vivid rendering of life in semi-rural Mississippi.
- Priscilla Winfrey serves as the emotional core, representing female endurance and martyrdom.
- Sabre Winfrey, the patriarch, embodies hypocrisy, using religion to excuse his son's predatory behavior.
- The novel concludes by focusing on inheritance: scripts of masculinity, female submission, and generational grief.
- Despite its macabre subject matter, the novel is described as gloriously funny with crackling prose and southern-black humor.