Open Carry

Aging Yochi Benish, an outspoken liberal and retired history professor, and his artist wife, Verna, have harbored a secret that has long haunted their marriage. Late in life, this secret surfaces with the reappearance of Bernard, an enigmatic childhood friend with a collection of aliases. Bernard's occupation is a mystery, even to himself, and he just may be an unwitting soldier in the ranks of organized crime. He falls for Margie, a lonely woman for whom he would reform his life, while not revealing to her how he makes a living or even his real name. Meanwhile, Yochi's political beliefs are put to the test by the rants of HaleWright, a virulent and charismatic right-wing talk radio host. Wright mentors Gabriel Prosser, an impressionable young intern, and a true believer who would kill for Christ. The witnesses of, and commentators on, America's descent into divisiveness, are spotlighted in this story about the paranoid, the victimized, the thinkers and the thoughtless, the followers and the followed, all of whom are drawn into an examination of America's gun culture, and the seemingly unresolvable issue of gun violence. Open Carry is a dark, often comedic, and ultimately dystopian novel about our failure to listen, to discuss, or to compromise on, let alone resolve, issues that threaten to irrevocably divide America.

J. DAVID ROBBINS is a retired educator. He taught history and other subjects in Los Angeles, and also worked as a counselor and magnet school coordinator. Open Carry is his second novel. He is also the author of The Layout.