The fragile, 1952 postwar tranquility of a young boy's world explodes one summer day when a leopard escapes from the Oklahoma City zoo, throwing all the local residents into dangerous excitement, in this story of a child's confrontation with his deepest fears.
... intimate ... Harrigan’s tale rings true; it engagingly draws upon family lore ... While the leopard is the elusive MacGuffin here, the story really is about the McClartys and Brennans at a turning point in their close-knit family life. Harrigan deftly catches the flavorful sense of a place and time as witnessed by a child: Grady watches and overhears much more than his family realizes, even if he doesn’t understand everything yet ... This story...was the one he really needed to tell.
That the novel is told retrospectively by Grady, now in his seventies, adds an element of nostalgia to this slightly old-fashioned family story, which, in its quiet way, is quite captivating.
... a deeply felt story ... Though the racial issues are unsatisfyingly relegated to a plot point, Grady is an appealing narrator, and Harrigan elegantly conveys the strength of family bonds. Readers who can overlook a few narrative wobbles will find plenty of heart.
