Review of Casual Water by Don Lee

In Casual Water by Don Lee, the story addresses the many challenges that are faced when attempting to cope with loss, as well as demonstrating the subtle distinctions between abandonment and departure. Lee uses the Fenny family to represent the universal fears of isolation, abandonment, and regret that transpire within all of us. Lee begins the story with the image of a desolate and abandoned airstrip, only accessible by boat as “ the road bridge washed out by years of storms and erosion and neglect” (22). This airstrip is a metaphor for Brian, the younger brother who has weathered years of storms and neglect. He is only accessible through his boat, his lifeline to the world, his older brother Patrick. Yet like most boats, Patrick fears the idea of being tied down and yearns to venture out and explore, but his parents abandonment has already left Brian battered and worn down, with severe emotional issues. While Brian struggles to cope with the abandonment of his parents as well as the gradual loss of his brother, Davis and Patrick struggle to cope with the idea of abandoning their respective dreams, PGA golf and going to Annapolis, to stay home and raise Brian. Brian and Patrick are accustomed to although not comfortable with abandonment. Early on their father had an obsession with golf and trying to revive his career even going as far as to “be on the road for thirty-five consecutive week” leaving their mother and them both at home. (33). Because of the isolation and the subsequent departure of her husband, who insisted he would always return but rarely did, Lita felt the need to leave her life and return to the Philippines, abandoning Patrick and Brian in the process. Lee emphasizes the subtle nuances between departure and abandonment especially with his creation of Lita. In her eyes she needed to leave, she felt alone and isolated with no friends or relatives, she stated “ there I have no life” (33). She was fighting to give herself a new life, a new