Rose Hill
A Novel
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The only thing faster than the speed of light is the speed of thought. -Elizabeth Kelly Graham, September 1992
Rose Hill is the mysterious story of the life and death of an eccentric, elderly (over 80) but strangely youthful woman, Elizabeth Kelly Graham, her intellectual and emotional relationship with a younger man, who may or may not be her son, and the wisdom she passes along to this man as her death approaches. The woman’s eccentricity is manifested in many ways, not the least of which is that she has lived in a small motel room for nearly twenty-five years despite having millions of dollars in property and assets. She also has the ability, so she says, to place herself in time and relive incidents in her past. Four voices plus the unnamed younger man, who is the narrator, relate the story. Elizabeth, usually referred to as Bessie, Charles Hubble, Bessie’s long time employee and chauffeur, Willie Williams, a private detective, and David Graham, Bessie’s late husband, who tells a story about the East Texas oil boom via a tape recording made in the mid-1950s. The narrator is never named. At various times he’s referred to as “Patrick’s boy.” There are other characters that are described and who often play important roles in the story, but they are mute. All the characters, with the exception of the narrator are, at various times, presented at different points in time, during the years covered by the action. In other words, Bessie is sometimes 16, at other times 80 plus, and at various ages in between. |