Mothers and Sons
A highly anticipated American novel about a family estranged for many years - and the secret that kept them apart
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
A mother and son, estranged for many years, reckon at last with the secret that has kept them apart in this highly anticipated novel by one of the most talented American writers of his generation
Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated, spending his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional detached hook-ups. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter’s numbness, the catastrophic event that he has avoided facing for twenty years returns to haunt him.
Ann, his mother, who runs a women’s retreat she founded after leaving his father, is hurt by her estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago put behind her the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.
'Subtle, symphonic and satisfying' Financial Times
'An epic family saga that packs an extraordinary emotional punch . . . this book is his best yet' Observer
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Haslett's irresistable latest (after Imagine Me Gone) revolves around the mystery of a man's teenage trauma. Peter, a 40-year-old immigration lawyer, works on asylum seekers' cases in New York City. In interlocking threads, Haslett delves into Peter's work on the case of a gay Albanian immigrant and his upbringing with his mother Ann, an Episcopal priest. In the latter timeline, Peter gradually discovers his own sexuality with his stunning and mysterious friend Jared. A third story line follows Ann as she divorces Peter's father for a woman named Clare, with whom she goes on to found a women's retreat, Viriditas. Ann and Clare's relationship struggles as Ann develops feelings for another woman at the retreat. Gradually, the reason for the rift between Peter and Ann—a harrowing event that happened over the course of one fateful evening during his youth—is revealed, leading to a climactic present-day confrontation between mother and son at Viriditas. Themes of guilt, new beginnings, survival, and violence permeate the excellent and subtle story of characters grappling with events beyond their control, and the author, himself an immigration lawyer, delivers a deeply personal portrait of Peter's tenacious advocacy for his clients. This matches the heights of Haslett's best work.
