Set in the 1950s, The Descent asks the question, "Where are we all going, so fast?" when the fates of seven travelers converge at a hairpin turn on a New Mexico highway.
In his most accessible and mainstream novel, Peters turns his observational prowess to the most unassuming of characters. Their dead ends and diversions are the repercussions of haphazard decisions made by their unexamined selves. Whether battle-worn or overprotected, the travelers must navigate the ennui of their ostensibly peaceful surroundings.
Peters does a remarkable job of capturing the motivations of both male and female characters, how they struggle to understand each other and coexist, and what territory can only be ceded in the gaps of understanding they encounter. What emerges is a striking representation of post-World War II United States, but the insights contained within are timeless. The Descent shows how catastrophe is a fact of life; that life is given to us on a silver platter, and what we do with it is up to us.