Fire Exit

Fire Exit (2024) is Indigenous (Penobscot) author Morgan Talty’s first novel. It follows his critically acclaimed debut collection of short stories, Night of the Living Rez (2022), which was the recipient of the New England Book Award for Fiction and the John Leonard Prize. Talty is known for his depictions of Penobscot communities in rural Maine, where he grew up. His works delve into the complexities of reservation life and examine Indigenous masculinities, especially in how generational trauma, structural inequality, United States government policy, and cultural loss impact men. Fire Exit uses the story of a white man raised by an Indigenous stepfather in a Penobscot community to highlight both the fraught politics of cultural identity and belonging and the enduring nature of familial bonds against the backdrop of lies, obfuscation, and secrecy. 

This guide refers to the 2024 hardcover edition published by Tin House Books. 

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of addiction, physical abuse, illness, mental illness, anti-gay bias, and death. 

Plot Summary

As the novel opens, narrator and protagonist Charles Lamosway watches his adult daughter, Elizabeth, as she leaves for work. The two live close enough that Charles can see Elizabeth’s house from his front windows, but they have met only once. When Elizabeth was born, her mother, Mary, listed another man—a Penobscot man named Roger—on Elizabeth’s birth certificate instead of Charles. Charles is not Indigenous, and without an Indigenous father, Elizabeth would not have qualified for Penobscot tribal enrollment. This decision has been a decades-long source of distress for Charles, who has been forced to watch his daughter grow up from a distance, believing that another man is her father. Although Mary still insists that Elizabeth must not know the truth, Charles has grown increasingly unable to keep this secret and has resolved to tell Elizabeth who he is. 

When Charles was a child (and after his biological father left the family), his mother, Louise, married a Penobscot man named Fredrick. Kind and loving Fredrick cared deeply for Charles and raised him as his own son, and Charles considered Fredrick his father. Fredrick, who passed away several years ago, taught Charles about Penobscot history and meaningful traditions, as well as the qualities that make one a successful adult. Charles grew up on the reservation, attended reservation schools, and spent his youth immersed in Penobscot culture. However, by the time he reached early adulthood, most of the tribal members considered him white, and he feels ostracized by his community. 

Although loved by Fredrick and his mother, Charles struggled as both a teenager and an adult. The disconnect he felt from his peers despite how strongly he identified with Fredrick’s teachings, coupled with a rift between Charles and his best friend, Gizos, catalyzed a series of mental health conditions that were only exacerbated by Fredrick’s death and Mary’s decision to cut him out of Elizabeth’s life. Charles self-medicated with alcohol for many years, straining his family relationships. After joining AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Charles stopped drinking and repaired his relationship with his mother. As the novel begins, she is experiencing memory loss and other symptoms that her doctor explains will result in dementia. Charles juggles caregiving for Louise with his work schedule and the many hours he spends observing Elizabeth through the front windows of his house. 

It soon becomes apparent to Charles that something is not quite right with Elizabeth. She no longer seems to be working and stops taking care of her appearance. Charles knows that there is depression in his family’s background and is also aware that Elizabeth, not knowing who her real father is, would be unaware of that portion of her medical history. He becomes even more convinced that he must reveal himself to her, although when he asks Mary about it, she becomes angry and refuses to tell Elizabeth the truth. 

Charles enlisted his friend Bobby to assist him in caring for Louise, and the two men do their best to help Louise navigate her worsening illness and the difficulties of memory loss. When Louise begins ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) treatments to manage her depression, Charles sees Elizabeth and Mary at the clinic. Elizabeth is also undergoing ECT, and Charles’s worries about his daughter increase. 

Mary and Roger ultimately tell Elizabeth that Charles is her biological father, and Elizabeth disappears. A large-scale search ensues, and Elizabeth is found inside of a burning house. Charles tries to rescue her, and Elizabeth tries unsuccessfully to shoot Charles. The two are rescued by a fire crew, and both require hospitalization. After Charles is released, he goes to see Elizabeth. She is angry with him and her mother but agrees to listen to him explain the portions of her family history that she does not know about. Louise dies, and at her funeral, it is apparent that Charles and Elizabeth have begun a relationship of sorts. He is hopeful that the two will come to share a strong bond and that he will be able to impart some of the wisdom that Fredrick shared with him.