The Characters of Friendswood
Friendswood introduces a scope of folky characters varying from different ages and situations but cross paths with one another as they become colloquial neighbors to their newly demolished home. Thus far, the main characters involve a child-ridden mother, a sobering father, and a young teen dealing with hallucinations.
Lee, the main character who bears two chapter names, is a mother who lost her daughter as supported by the passage, "Jess [Lee's daughter] felt close and far away at the same time as if she were hiding somewhere...squares of grief building" (Steinke 30). She has also lost the security and beauty of her home due to an oil spill when "the sludge wriggled into rose gardens" following the insensitive response of the oil company of not acting (28).
Hal is a struggling house-salesman who has recently "said good riddance to the devil last year when he stopped drinking cold" (13). He refers to religion to escape moments of darkness, and ironically looks up to his son Cully, whom he takes great pride in. As for his business, he hopes that his high school friend, Avery, will join alliances with him since he is building homes in Rosemont, the location of Lee's wiped-out home.
Hal's son Cully is acquaintances with another one of the main characters named Willa. She is the teenage daughter of a conservative and religious father and struggles with hallucinations. For example, "she stared at the dead plant on the windowsill in her room, until one of the stalks kicked into a leg and started walking out of the pot" (21). A connection is also found between Willa and Lee as it is discovered that Lee and Willa's mother were once great friends, and now have stopped talking since "whatever had happened between Lee and her mother must have been catastrophic" (24).
Friendswood in its self-named novel is a small yet tight-knit community where everyone seems to know and relate to each other despite their differences. The town is located in Texas and has just been hit by a hurricane. The aftermath has left the town old and more wrecked than after the oil spill. The novel describes it full of "fallen branches and toppled road signs" and "collapsed bleachers" but "things were [are] getting back to normal" from the storm, but not from the oil spill (Steinke 3). Comradeship is proven however when Lee, one of the main characters, donates blankets to a local shelter for those in desperate need. Even though the storm left some damning effects in Friendswood, the oil spill was much worse. The place is contaminated, especially in a section called Rosemont, where signs read "Contaminants Danger and No Trespassing" (6). In fact, chemicals were hidden there "in a number of truck-sized vinyl containers, no better than giant Tupperware" (7). People lost homes and animals lost lives, such as the headless copperhead Lee found "slick and oily" with a scent of petroleum (27). Sadly, there seems to be no one taking action or even caring, except for Lee, as noted by one character stating that, "'I heard she's just gotten stranger about the old Rosemont site. Made a scene last month at the city council meeting" (23). All in all, Friendswood may be a small town with folks that know and help out one another, but the novel has described it as painted in oil, with the hurricane worsening the condition.
