Atticus is a love story, not about romantic love which can come and go, but about parental love which is constant and unconditional--a father's unceasing love for his modern-day prodigal son. That this is also a mystery story seems almost an afterthought, to make the story more appealing to novel readers who expect drama and suspense.
Atticus is the name of the father, a wealthy rancher from Colorado, who learns of his son's death by suicide at a resort in Mexico. When he travels to Mexico to claim the body and learn about his son's life and death there, he begins to suspect murder and attempts to unravel the mystery.
It is not too usual these days for the protagonist of a novel to be a deeply decent person, but that's what this one is. Of course, his name immediately brings to mind Atticus Finch, the exemplary father in To Kill a Mockingbird, and I'm sure that it is not by happenstance that Hansen chose that name. This novel is a reminder to us in these days of cynicism and blame that many out there still live their lives as the best people they know how to be.
Hansen's writing style here is very understated and straightforward, and the story has something of the atmosphere of a parable, which, of course, it is. I do think the author could have been a bit less explicit in his interpretation. Readers sometimes like to make these leaps of comprehension by themselves.
This is a lovely book, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pen/Faulkner Award.
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