fiction

Crane Flies and Other Domestic Terrors
Teresa DiFalco
Represented by Inkwell Management, New York
97,000 words / 320 pages

Ellen and Howard Jenks are a young, ostensibly thriving couple living with their two children in a prosperous Oregon suburb.  However, their self-assured exterior masks a creeping frustration at their inability to feel fulfilled in relationships or careers.  Howard is mired in a dull but well-paying job, and Ellen has abandoned a respectable career to care for their home and children, and nurture futile dreams of greatness. 

They flirt with self-medication and infidelity, they try valiantly to escape the ruthless grip of monotony.  Ellen plays the same Mozart sonata over and over and starts petty feuds with the neighbors.  Howard engages in risky behavior at work.  As their relationship deteriorates, their hopes of self-fulfillment and dreams of love are thrown into jeopardy.   

This is almost word-for-word the jacket copy for Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates.  Crane Flies and Other Domestic Terrors is Revolutionary Road with smart phones.  It’s a dark comedy, it’s lousy with bugs, a fair number of strangers come to the door.  It’s a long tirade about confinement and sex, but it’s also a love story. 

They had the greatest marriage in the world. They were unhappy. They couldn’t live with each other. They did. 

 Full excerpt on request. Email tdifalco {a} teresadifalco {dot] com. 

(Synopses + excerpts of Hustling Woody Allen and The Better Wives’ Club, are available by request.)