Rating:

True Crime Meets Coming of Age

Author: David Crow

David Crow grew up learning to torture his mother and take constant revenge so that his father, Thurston Crow, would love him. These were the only times he received praise from his ex-con father, the only time he was made to feel part of the family, feel like he was worth something.

Growing up in a Navajo Indian Reservation, raised by a violent father and a mentally ill mother, David and his siblings lived in a wild, fluctuating space of psychotic violence interspersed with occasional rays of friendliness from passing people. In this memoir, David hides mothing. He portrays the monstrousness of his family – his father’s brooding murderousness, his mother’s self-centered childishness, his siblings’ fear, the reservation’s hate and judgement. But David also shows his own monstrousness. In this lawless childhood, his fun activities include setting fireworks on passed-out drunks, ruining school field trips by destroying the buses, and playing creatively cruel pranks. He was a vicious child, admittedly, but one that knew neither love nor discipline. His father only ever loved him when he did these kinds of things.

Yet, as David grows older, a latent conscience comes into play. Thurston Crow has come up with another game, one to hurt David’s mother, to leave her alone in the world, to abandon her and make her lose her children. It’s better than the alternative though,  since Thurston not-so-secretly wants to kill his wife. So young David is forced to play along, because a tortured mother is better than a dead one.

As the years pass and David grows older, his father’s lies become increasingly more obvious. David is not stupid because he needs glasses and is dyslexic. He’s not useless. And he doesn’t belong in this world.

As the story evolves, the author is forthright. He shows both beauty and horror, dawning understanding, and the crippling fear of leaving the only kind of life he has ever known. He talks about betrayal – both the betrayals he enacts against his own mother and those manifested against himself by both of his parents. He shows, above all, a surprising compassion and wisdom as he finally confronts his father when Thurston attempts another murderous scheme.

The Pale-Faced Lie is a moving and disturbing book. It’s a memoir, of course, but it is surprisingly not all horror. David shares what he has learned and, in the conclusion, shows an unbelievable amount of love and forgiveness. As a child who starts out as a holy terror, just seeking familial love and approval, David grows into a young man with wisdom and intent. It’s a powerful story, at turns heartbreaking and inspiring, and above all it is told with glaring honesty and reflection. David takes us back in time to that reservation and takes us through the transformation of a life born into chaos that finally emerges through violence into hope. Highly recommended.

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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