The male characters in the three spiritually charged novella-length stories in Reynolds Price's The Foreseeable Future are all wounded individuals seeking healing for their souls. This prolific southern writer is interested in the deep yearnings we all have for meaning and connection in a world of fragmentary experiences.
In "The Fare to the Moon," Kayes Paschal has been drafted to fight in World War II. His troubled leave-taking involves saying goodbye to his wife and 14-year-old son who still can't believe that Kayes has fallen in love with Leah, the niece of his grandmother's black cook. But then, they don't know her smile, a smile which Kayes believes can "give me all I lacked." The redemptive power of love here is contrasted with the brokenness which accompanies marital separation.
The difficulties in marriage are at the heart of "Back Before Day" in which a football coach and insecure husband takes a long day's journey into night while considering the possibility that his wife might leave him for another man. Price's poetic treatment of this man's soul searching is convincing.
The standout story in the collection is "The Foreseeable Future." Here Whit Wade returns home from World War II after being severely wounded in the Normandy invasion. During a week on the road in North Carolina as an insurance claims adjuster, he struggles to revive his mind and soul. An encounter with a spiritual healer leaves him perplexed. Eventually, Whit comes home a new man, alert to the love that is lavished upon him by his wife and daughter.