How Fires End is Marco Rafalà’s debut novel, and a stunning one it is, all about families and secrets and trauma. Told in reverse chronological order, How Fires End begins with the story of David, the son of a Sicilian immigrant in Middletown, CT. David’s mother died when he was very young, leaving him in the hands of an emotionally-damaged, reticent father. Though his father, Salvatore, tries to erase his own past and his wife’s presence from David’s life, his son nonetheless inherits the aftereffects of that history with its family rivalries reaching back generations. These events culminate in the small Sicilian town of Melilli during World War II, and the repercussions are carried forward when the families involved immigrate to America. Like a delectable lasagna, the story is revealed in layers, starting from the present and working backwards.
The book brought to mind the stories in the news about a year ago in which studies supported the idea that the effects of trauma can reverberate down the generations through epigenetics. These epigenetic changes modify the expression of our genes without changing our DNA code itself. In response to changes in the womb, genes are turned on or off by tiny chemical tags are added to or removed from our DNA, affording a method of adapting without a permanent shift in our genome. How Fires End is a fascinating fictional study of how intergenerational trauma may be psychosocial in nature, but I propose it may be part epigenetic.
The prose is gorgeous, particularly that involved in describing gardening or cooking. The descriptions of Sicily were delightful. I look forward further works from Marco Rafalà.
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