90 pages • 3-hour read
The Dry
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Themes
The Physical and Mental Effects of Drought
The two-year-long drought in Kiewarra is omnipresent throughout the story. It has taken a significant toll on the land physically, destroying the local economy, but also the mental states of Kiewarra's residents. The dire conditions of this farming town simultaneously create a sense of solidarity for those willing to endure them, while also exacerbating interpersonal tensions.
The farmers do not resent the land; instead of cursing it and eagerly leaving it behind, they continuously remind each other that “the dry” will break, holding out hope for a change in weather (1). Though some have sold their farms and moved to parts of the country with more rain, farmers like Gretchen cannot bring themselves to leave, because “it's in the blood” (12)—they have an inextricable connection to Kiewarra that they are not willing to cut. While it is tough, and even though some relationships in town are far from amicable, Gretchen explains that they are “all in it together” (125).
The overwhelming impression of the drought, though, is one of tension and desperation. The heat is characterized as unbearable and mentioned often—it is inescapable in Kiewarra. The farmers are already at “the end of their tether” due to their failing farms, but Gretchen is sure that “the heat makes everything worse,” including everyone's mood (161). The hopelessness and anxiety that torment the town are especially exemplified by people's reactions to Luke's presumed suicide: Gretchen explains, “It’s almost like they’re jealous […] Of the fact that he did what they can’t bring themselves to do, I think. […] While the rest of us are stuck here to rot, he’s got no more worrying about crops or missed payments or the next rainfall” (18). Even the Clyde police officers did not bother looking too far into the deaths because it was so plausible that “another farmer [had] gone off the rails” (26).
The children share the anguish as well, whose school drawings depict brown landscapes, dead livestock, and unhappy families (82). Whitlam tells the officers that the drought “is going to kill this town” (82), a prediction he nearly manifests when he almost starts a wildfire.
Choices and Consequences
The characters’ choices, and the subsequent outcomes of these choices that the characters must live with, drive the plot of the novel. Harper creates suspense and emotional pull by filling the plot with seemingly insignificant choices, which are later revealed to have devastating consequences and affect the entire story. Luke almost does not stop for Whitlam on the road, but his good nature gets the better of him and results in his (and his family's) death. Karen, being overly cautious with handling her suspicion of Whitlam so that he would not be unfairly hurt (280) could have prevented Whitlam from murdering her had she reported him sooner. Her choice to keep Billy home—presumably so that she would not have to interact with Whitlam after their confrontation—is what leads to his unplanned death as well. As Whitlam himself says, these “sad coincidences […] [leave] you with a lot of what-ifs” (86).
On a broader scale, many residents of Kiewarra stay there, whether for family, for work, or just because they have “been here too long” (12). They stay despite the awful conditions, which consequently create such a desperate and resentful environment that some envy Luke's death as a way out. The choice to leave, however, also has undesirable consequences: The trauma of being run out of town permanently affects Falk's relationship with his father, and his relationship with his hometown. Gretchen and Falk's choice to keep their actual whereabouts on the day Ellie died a secret for as long as they do haunts them into their adulthood, imagining how much could have been different had they been honest. Though the truth does eventually come out, “[i]t's a lesson [they] all had to learn the hard way” (243).
Whitlam and Deacon make the two most overtly tragic and significant choices of the story but are incidentally the two characters that exhibit the least guilt. Whitlam does presumably have to face the legal consequences of his actions, as well as live with the physical scars as a reminder of what he did, but justifies his choices until the end. Once Falk discovers Ellie's backpack, Deacon's future remains unknown, though perhaps he has lived with some remorse because he had “wondered if he'd meant to hold his daughter quite so tightly” (326). The choices characters make, or made 20 years ago, all affect Kiewarra's community. The sentiment, “If I'd known, I would have done things differently,” is a popular one in Kiewarra, but it often comes too late. As Falk is quickly reminded, “[s]ome things had to be lived with” (228).
Secrets, Lies, and Mistrust in an Intimate Community
As an intimate community where everyone is aware of everyone else's business, Kiewarra harbors many dark secrets and lies. The biggest secret, that of Ellie's death, is one that connects many characters to each other over the course of 20 years. The lies told and secrets kept pertaining to Ellie's death are all for the sake of protection. In a town where standing out can be met with extreme judgement and ostracization, lying becomes its own form of safety. It is what motivates Jamie to lie about his relationship with Dr. Leigh, hindering the investigation, and it is what keeps Falk and Gretchen from sharing the truth for 20 years, even though the guilt haunts them.
For some in Kiewarra, the lies have been told for long enough that they “[have become] second nature” (225). Luke dies, never having faltered from his story, no matter how much Falk tries to pry the truth out of him. Whitlam has grown so well at obscuring his addiction and the severity of his debts that he almost gets away with murder, lying effortlessly to Raco, Falk, and his family for the duration of the investigation. Deacon and Grant become so fixated on blaming the Falks for Ellie's death to protect themselves that they cast a lasting shadow of doubt over the entire town.
The mistrust and doubt that are sewn in Kiewarra both 20 years ago and in the present moment are powerful enough to jeopardize relationships and create serious rifts that affect the larger community. Sustained by gossip and rumor, the doubt of the Falks' innocence is enough to push them out of town. These “fat and solid” rumors were insidious enough to make Erik doubt his own son's innocence, which permanently damages their relationship. The rumors “never died” (93) and await Falk when he returns, leading to unpleasant experiences in nearly every public place he visits. The tension and growing air of mistrust in Kiewarra after the Hadlers' deaths undermine Falk's convictions and neutrality as an agent: He becomes fixated on Deacon and Grant, but even guiltily finds himself suspecting Luke and Gretchen at certain points, seeing signs where he otherwise might not.
The reason the residents of Kiewarra put up with the deeply rooted lies and mistrust, and even the violence that occasionally follows it, is because in such a small community, everyone is interdependent. People like Deacon and Grant can get away with poisoning a neighbor's field or starting a bar fight because they “all need each other to get by” (47).
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