Lies and Consequences. (Original novel)

The main themes of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck are self-deception and the deception of others; Lies and Consequences, the novel begun here, inspired by that work, although not daring to claim kinship with its excellence, explores those themes as they apply to two men and two women in contemporary American urban settings and situations, mainly but not entirely, Brooklynites and Brooklyn. Dan Turner, the novel's protagonist, faces the consequences of lies (and truths) as a reporter, advertising agency executive, television anchor man, fighter pilot, film writer, fifteen-minute celebrity, lover, husband and father. The themes echo in varying degrees in two of the three short stories, "Touch and Go" and "Men Only Want One Thing," as well as in four of the eight poems, "What He Had in His head," "Proposition," "Chances" and "Reflection.".