May be a better book than Edward Adrift, certainly a lot more going on, and the father's character is well drawn and somewhat complex, but nevertheless, I enjoyed the simplicity of Adrift better. Technically, that may not deserve 4 stars from me, but it's all personal, ultimately, so I'll keep that rating. He's good enough for me to now be reading his 4th book! Personal, indeed! Recommended. Maybe 3.8? Not literature, but satisfying somewhat-poignant fiction. Mitch is your average late 30s man, wife, two young children, but with problems at home. One week, he starts getting calls from his father who he’d been largely estranged from, save for the funeral of his mother. These calls are short, and usually end with his father insisting that the calls were for “nothing important” and hanging up. At the insistence of his wife, at first to give him a break from the environment at home, and later, to solve the mystery of why his father is calling and hanging up, Mitch travels to visit his father in his childhood town. What follows is one of the more reasonable and believable novels that I’ve read in quite a while. The story flips between present day Mitch trying to figure out what’s going on with his father and the formative summer Mitch spent with his father in the late 70s (hence the title, “The Summer Son”; alternating summers at each divorced parent’s home). At no point during this story, save the last chapter or so, did I ever lose my disbelief in this story. Every character seems believable and their story and situations seem just as likely as any story my friends or family might tell me. Through most of the story I was fantasy casting the movie version in my head, as it seemed like a realistic premise for a Hollywood “feel good movie of the year”. I highly recommend checking this book out, and though at moments, it can seem slow and laborious, it almost serves to give you the same frustrated feeling as Mitch trying and trying to dig information out of his father. Even the slightly less realistic twist at the end wasn’t really too unbelievable, especially given the history of the characters built throughout the book. I look forward to reading more of Mr. Lancaster’s novels in the future.
Do You like book Summer Son, The: A Novel (2012)?
If you like reflecting on how people's past affect their today 'sThis is an interesting book.
—kimby
Very quick read, good story. Would definitely recommend.
—alamack
