Summary
Rough Country by John Stanford begins with an experienced investigator, Virgil Flowers, receiving a call informing him about a murder that has taken place nearby at an all women resort. The women was shot with a small caliber rifle, and Virgil is tasked with bringing the killer to justice. While investigating the crime he comes to find out that the resort is full of lesbians and the murder is likely tied to an affair between women. He also is made aware of a small town country band of women that has ties to the resort. While interrogating these women Virgil struggles to know who is telling the truth and who is covering for their friends/girlfriends. He is not able to get a clear lead on the case quick enough, and another murder takes place. This sends Virgil scrambling for answers before yet another innocent life is taken.
After failing to find any significant evidence, Virgil catches a break by discovering that Wendy, the lead singer of the band that plays at the resort, has a frighteningly odd family. Her brother is obviously mentally challenged, while her father has never recovered from the betrayal of his wife, when she ran away with another man. When doing a little digging into this family Virgil becomes aware of Wendy's desire to leave the town and resort to try and jumpstart her career. He also has been told that due to his wife's absence, Wendy's father Slibe is extremely emotionally attached to Wendy, and he would hate to see her leave. This is what triggered Slibe to kill someone Wendy was close to, in hopes that she would not leave home and the murder would be pinned on one of her lesbian friends.
Virgil at this point has solved the case, but has not caught the killer. The manhunt begins and all available forces are set on foot through the woods to find Slibe. While on the look for Slibe, officers find that a car had been buried in Wendy's yard years before. It is dug up and inside Wendy's mother is found dead with a man she had an affair with, and now everything about the murders makes sense. After a brutal and violent battle between Slibe and Virgil, Virgil ends as the victor with Slibe in cuffs and all is well again on the resort and in the town, other than the fact that Wendy now has to live knowing details of her mother's demise. She no longer can have hope of reuniting, but now has hatred for her father's murderous actions.
After failing to find any significant evidence, Virgil catches a break by discovering that Wendy, the lead singer of the band that plays at the resort, has a frighteningly odd family. Her brother is obviously mentally challenged, while her father has never recovered from the betrayal of his wife, when she ran away with another man. When doing a little digging into this family Virgil becomes aware of Wendy's desire to leave the town and resort to try and jumpstart her career. He also has been told that due to his wife's absence, Wendy's father Slibe is extremely emotionally attached to Wendy, and he would hate to see her leave. This is what triggered Slibe to kill someone Wendy was close to, in hopes that she would not leave home and the murder would be pinned on one of her lesbian friends.
Virgil at this point has solved the case, but has not caught the killer. The manhunt begins and all available forces are set on foot through the woods to find Slibe. While on the look for Slibe, officers find that a car had been buried in Wendy's yard years before. It is dug up and inside Wendy's mother is found dead with a man she had an affair with, and now everything about the murders makes sense. After a brutal and violent battle between Slibe and Virgil, Virgil ends as the victor with Slibe in cuffs and all is well again on the resort and in the town, other than the fact that Wendy now has to live knowing details of her mother's demise. She no longer can have hope of reuniting, but now has hatred for her father's murderous actions.
Favorite Quote
“On the other hand, her behavior was simply too… unparsed. Davies hadn’t thought of answers in advance. She hadn’t calculated her behavior. Everything about her was raw and unrehearsed.
Unless, he thought, she was crazy”(123).
Unless, he thought, she was crazy”(123).
Suspects are eliminated in this passage as Virgil uses his gut to make assumptions about this person. He decides that because of her behavior and sincereness she could not have known about the crime she was being interrogated over. The only way it could have been her was if she was crazy enough to act unrehearsed when that is exactly how she rehearsed acting.
This quote stood out to me because it gives incite on how people's behavior can be read for interrogation. People who come across as unrehearsed and unprepared are likely being honest, and those that have a story that has been practiced are likely being untruthful.
This quote stood out to me because it gives incite on how people's behavior can be read for interrogation. People who come across as unrehearsed and unprepared are likely being honest, and those that have a story that has been practiced are likely being untruthful.
Themes
Mental Illness
Virgil builds his case on the basis that his suspects are guilty because they are mentally ill. This may be true, but they cannot be arrested simply because they have mental disabilities.
Virgil builds his case on the basis that his suspects are guilty because they are mentally ill. This may be true, but they cannot be arrested simply because they have mental disabilities.
Affairs
Many couples are found guilty of cheating on one another, and violence is brought forth because of it. Virgil finds that his investigation all leads back to an affair and a murder committed due to the affair.
Many couples are found guilty of cheating on one another, and violence is brought forth because of it. Virgil finds that his investigation all leads back to an affair and a murder committed due to the affair.
Religious Beliefs
Virgil struggles with the death and violence that he has been exposed to, and wonders about God and how all of these horrors fit into his scheme. He finds comfort knowing that it is out of his hands and in God's. He realizes that he cannot solve mental illness or prevent affairs, so he trusts that God will.
Virgil struggles with the death and violence that he has been exposed to, and wonders about God and how all of these horrors fit into his scheme. He finds comfort knowing that it is out of his hands and in God's. He realizes that he cannot solve mental illness or prevent affairs, so he trusts that God will.
Overview: Main themes of the novel are compared to real life generalities of mental illness and disloyalty in relationships. Solutions to solving these problems of the world being unknown is discussed, and both the main character of the novel and many others in the real world turn to God for help and solutions.
Rough Country Essay
Throughout history cheating and affairs have commonly led to violence. Add mental illness into that scenario and the situation becomes even more frightening. In the novel Rough Country by John Stanford, a murderous mess unfolds at the hands of an affair and is worsened because of severe mental illness. The question then arises of how these situations can be prevented. The answer is unknown because mental illness cannot be solved, and many people unfortunately, are disloyal to their spouses. When people attempt to understand why these instances occur, they are usually let down and can do nothing other than trust that God will figure it out. Not only in this novel, but in everyday life, mental illness and disloyalty are prevalent, forcing many people to have faith that when they cannot solve something, God can.
Mental illness can cause people to act in a manner that they would usually refrain from. It may lead someone with disabilities to do something as minor as acting strange around others, or something far worse such as murdering someone as seen in the novel Rough Country. When the main character interrogated his suspect he now “understood what people had meant when they described Slibe II as not quite right. He thought too long about his words, though the words, when they arrived, were appropriate enough; it was the measure of his sentences that was wrong. And he had an odd sideways gaze, not shy, but shielded, as though he were trying to conceal an unhealthy curiosity, or passion, or fear”(250). When somebody is mentally ill they often come across as concealed just as Slibe II is described by the author. They can be hard to read and that may lead an investigator to be drawn to them as a suspect, or maybe form a bias against them. People who have disabilities might also be more prone to violent explosions when something goes wrong in their life, such as a mother leaving, or a spouse cheating.
It is not uncommon, especially in today’s day in age, for spouses to cheat on each other, which alone lends itself to violence. When affairs are mixed with mental illness, violence and outbursts are highly likely outcomes. Disloyalty will always be the root of many problems, and when problems do arise, it will be looked at as the most likely reason for those problems. When a crime occurs spouses are usually the first suspect assent when Virgil interrogates the husband of a victim. He questions him, “with the apology for having to ask. James Washington said, ‘Hell no, I’m not messing around with anybody. Why does everybody ask that?’
‘Because when a married woman gets shot under unusual circumstances, the first guy we look at is the husband, and most of the time he did it’”(218). Virgil has been exposed to affairs and suspects that a husband could be involved. He quickly realizes he was not, but because of tendencies in society he is forced to ensure that there was no foul play before writing him off as a suspect. With no suspects, people dead, and little hope Virgil begins wondering why all of this has happened and what he can do about it just as any human being would.
With no hope of helping the disabled or repairing a relationship, people often turn to God for help. They trust that when they cannot, God can so have faith in him. Many people lay awake at night wondering how they can fix something on their own, and can only find peace when they let in be in God’s hands. Virgil worried in this novel, like many do, about why bad things happen to good people so he “spent some time with God that night, thinking about the way things were--about how somebody like Jud Windrow might be lying dead somewhere, for no discernible reason--and why they were like that, and why a believer like himself would be going around cursing as he did”(323). It was only after he realized that it was out of his control that he could have peace. He was attempting to solve the problems of this world by himself, and it tore him up.
Today’s world is full of unfortunate circumstances such as mental illness and broken relationships, but it is also filled with people who attempt to figure these problems out on their own. It is displayed well in the novel that these problems can wear on people, especially when they are without the help of anyone. It is great to work towards helping others but doing it alone can be challenging and unsuccessful. This is why many turn to God and are able to sleep at night because they are not alone with their thoughts and worries of how they can improve the lives of themselves and others. It works for Virgil to place his fears and worries in God’s hands, and maybe when somebody is struggling with the worries and doubt of the world it will work for them as well.
Throughout history cheating and affairs have commonly led to violence. Add mental illness into that scenario and the situation becomes even more frightening. In the novel Rough Country by John Stanford, a murderous mess unfolds at the hands of an affair and is worsened because of severe mental illness. The question then arises of how these situations can be prevented. The answer is unknown because mental illness cannot be solved, and many people unfortunately, are disloyal to their spouses. When people attempt to understand why these instances occur, they are usually let down and can do nothing other than trust that God will figure it out. Not only in this novel, but in everyday life, mental illness and disloyalty are prevalent, forcing many people to have faith that when they cannot solve something, God can.
Mental illness can cause people to act in a manner that they would usually refrain from. It may lead someone with disabilities to do something as minor as acting strange around others, or something far worse such as murdering someone as seen in the novel Rough Country. When the main character interrogated his suspect he now “understood what people had meant when they described Slibe II as not quite right. He thought too long about his words, though the words, when they arrived, were appropriate enough; it was the measure of his sentences that was wrong. And he had an odd sideways gaze, not shy, but shielded, as though he were trying to conceal an unhealthy curiosity, or passion, or fear”(250). When somebody is mentally ill they often come across as concealed just as Slibe II is described by the author. They can be hard to read and that may lead an investigator to be drawn to them as a suspect, or maybe form a bias against them. People who have disabilities might also be more prone to violent explosions when something goes wrong in their life, such as a mother leaving, or a spouse cheating.
It is not uncommon, especially in today’s day in age, for spouses to cheat on each other, which alone lends itself to violence. When affairs are mixed with mental illness, violence and outbursts are highly likely outcomes. Disloyalty will always be the root of many problems, and when problems do arise, it will be looked at as the most likely reason for those problems. When a crime occurs spouses are usually the first suspect assent when Virgil interrogates the husband of a victim. He questions him, “with the apology for having to ask. James Washington said, ‘Hell no, I’m not messing around with anybody. Why does everybody ask that?’
‘Because when a married woman gets shot under unusual circumstances, the first guy we look at is the husband, and most of the time he did it’”(218). Virgil has been exposed to affairs and suspects that a husband could be involved. He quickly realizes he was not, but because of tendencies in society he is forced to ensure that there was no foul play before writing him off as a suspect. With no suspects, people dead, and little hope Virgil begins wondering why all of this has happened and what he can do about it just as any human being would.
With no hope of helping the disabled or repairing a relationship, people often turn to God for help. They trust that when they cannot, God can so have faith in him. Many people lay awake at night wondering how they can fix something on their own, and can only find peace when they let in be in God’s hands. Virgil worried in this novel, like many do, about why bad things happen to good people so he “spent some time with God that night, thinking about the way things were--about how somebody like Jud Windrow might be lying dead somewhere, for no discernible reason--and why they were like that, and why a believer like himself would be going around cursing as he did”(323). It was only after he realized that it was out of his control that he could have peace. He was attempting to solve the problems of this world by himself, and it tore him up.
Today’s world is full of unfortunate circumstances such as mental illness and broken relationships, but it is also filled with people who attempt to figure these problems out on their own. It is displayed well in the novel that these problems can wear on people, especially when they are without the help of anyone. It is great to work towards helping others but doing it alone can be challenging and unsuccessful. This is why many turn to God and are able to sleep at night because they are not alone with their thoughts and worries of how they can improve the lives of themselves and others. It works for Virgil to place his fears and worries in God’s hands, and maybe when somebody is struggling with the worries and doubt of the world it will work for them as well.