Defending Daedalus

It is a terrible flaw in our makeup that we tend to understand least those closest to us. A problem of obstruction, perhaps, our own shadows blocking our view. Jack Blanchard is a talented, accomplished painter who loves and resents his father for the same reasons. Love condemns resentment, and the resulting guilt paralyzes Jack. Phil Blanchard is a war hero and successful businessman who loves his son in such a self-conscious way he spends his life trying to achieve a hopelessly high, self-imposed standard so he can feel worthy of expressing that love. This includes running for governor, a foray that plunges both father and son into the tragic comedy that is politics in the American South.