What a fascinating read. The story follows Alice who is in the midst of deciding whether to leave her husband after a life time of abuse. I found I was sympathetic towards her until she is shown in a different light by the thoughts of her daughter in law and son who struggle with her behaviour. The reflection of her character by someone else, showing something different. The next part is the views from her other son, the sone living in France who couldn’t be more different to his brother.
An absolutely fascinating book with amazing characters and a great story

Had mixed feeling regarding this one .I will definitely read more from this author.
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I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It was originally published I UK in 2015, 12/17/19 is US release
This is a story about a dysfunctional family. It takes place in London area.
The characters are Alice her husband of 50 years Ken, they are in their late 60’s almost 70’s. Their son Tim and his wife Natalya, and their other son Matt.
This book did a bit of timeline jumping, it was broken up into parts, Part 1 was about Alice and her marriage to Ken and her view on her relationship with her children. Part 2 was from Natalya and Tim’s view on their life and their relationship with Alice and Ken. Part 3 is a bridging section between what happens to Alice after Part 2 that leads to Part 4. The first part of Part 4 is from Tim’s point of view of his life, and the final part is from Alice’s view of Tim’s life and making some revelations about her own.
There is some touchy topic, abuse, drinking, prostitution, human trafficking.
I really enjoyed this book, I know that it has lots of triggers and may not be appropriate for everyone. I found the characters to be very realistic, even if they were not all likable. As a domestic abuse survivor myself I was really able to relate to Alice, Tim and Matt and understand their motivations for the choices they made. But I realize it is a heavy topic. It was a really well written book and compelling characters to me.

Before we get into The Other Son by Nick Alexander, I want to warn readers [TRIGGER ALERT] that this book describes scenes of domestic violence that might be hard to read for some people.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get to what we came for. Our main character is Alice, a woman in her late 60s and with more than a fair share of regrets in life. Stuck in a marriage with a man she doesn’t love and disconnected from her now-grown children, Alice is finding it hard to continue to avoid her desolation.

I will start this review by admitting that I had to force myself to read through the first half of the book. During this part of the story, we get to know our main characters from the omnipresent perspective of our all-knowing narrator. And let me tell you, the sight ain’t pretty.

We meet Alice, who has lived almost her entire life avoiding conflict at a very high cost, her clueless husband, her emotionally isolated older son, and his insecure wife, who is traumatized by her own backstory. We also hear about a second son, who’s recurrently described as average and underachieving, but nowhere in sight.

The book dedicates a lot of time describing each character’s emotional state and the experiences that influenced it. The main characters are so “in their head” and unaware of the needs of those that surround them (or even how to relate to them) that you quickly lose sympathy for all of them, even Alice. I would be remiss to not mention that these characters’ tragic flaws are not without reason. Still, their deep-seated resentment for life and for each other is painful to read. They all seem so unhappy yet passive to their circumstances. Everything about this family is just sad.

“The tears are flowing freely now and Alice lowers her head into her hands and lets herself sob. She’s been busy, that’s the thing. She’s been very, very busy for a very long time — busy avoiding conflict. She’s spent her life not mentioning things, not noticing things. She’s had to become an expert at not thinking about things, and not having emotional responses, just to survive.” Excerpt from The Other Son by Nick Alexander

For a while there, I had no idea where this book was going. I kept thinking, is this one of these books where the author describes a period in time and, while beautifully and insightfully written, the story is just a flat line?

Then we meet him, the other son, and it all starts coming together. And, it’s worth it! This story’s unraveling is quick, but also delicate, meaningful and mesmerizing. Nick Alexander definitely delivers.

The Other Son is a story of learning to leave the table where happiness is no longer being served (a bit of an adaptation of Nina Simone’s wise advice) and letting love flourish. This book is not for everyone, but if you would like to read about an antihero who finds her courage and recovers her humanity, this might be the book for you.

The Other Son is compelling not because of grand moments but because of the way Alexander examines the mundane elements of life. A move by a friend causes Alice to question her decisions and her marriage, as well as her relationships with her two sons. It’s a book about taking stock of one’s life and taking agency.

Another good read by nick Alexander! Full of the complexities and dynamics of family life!
Alice the brow beaten, physically abused wife of ken has two very different sons Matt and Tim unfortunately the family are not a close open engaged family.
The book is told in parts, but the over riding feel is that what we are subjected to/ witness as children has far reaching effects upon us throughout life. The sensitive topic of domestic abuse is portrayed in a delicate but realistic manner as is coming to terms with homosexuality.
Alice finally breaks free from the controlling bullying ken and in doing so sets herself free, and reacquaints herself with son Matt and his basic lifestyle and becomes far more in tune with her feelings and emotions!
Thank you net galley for this early read x

I’d like to thank Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Other Son’ by Nick Alexander in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
After living with her abusive and bullying husband Ken for forty years, circumstances force Alice to make a decision and she packs her bag and leaves him. Her older son Tim won’t take sides despite watching Ken beat his mother black and blue throughout his childhood years. Alice is staying with her friend Dot and sleeping on her sofa, but she can’t stay there for much longer. She doesn’t know where her younger son Matt is as he’s spent the last few years making a living whilst backpacking around the globe. Could he be the one to help Alice start a new life?
‘The Other Son’ is a beautifully written story of a dysfunctional family and tackles the subject of abuse behind closed doors with sensitivity and compassion. Due to being married to a man who only regards her as a skivvy fit for nothing more than ironing his shirts and making him cups of tea, it’s little wonder that some of his negativity has rubbed off on Alice. It takes new scenery and meeting Matt’s friends that makes her realise that even at 69-years-old she can still achieve what she wants in life, to find the peace and quiet she never thought possible. This is a lovely story with a perfect ending and I can definitely recommend it.

This novel reminds me of a Tolstoy quote.. loosely repeated, every unhappy family is unhappy in a different way. This book is a beautifully told story of one very unhappy, dysfunctional family. Two sons, who are as unlike as fire and water, are the result of familial abuse. A heart wrenching story of acceptance and self realization, the author renders his characters with honesty and skill. I felt I knew them at the end of the novel. The mother was so well depicted and eventually enlightened as to her failings and negativity. She was constantly trying to make the unbearable bearable. Perhaps that’s what abusive relationships create. I am delighted I was offered the chance to read this wonderful story.

Loved this book. Beautifully written, with well drawn characters, I would have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed reading this book. Story of Alice and Ken’s marriage is one that I am sure many readers will relate to. Yet another good book by Nick Alexander

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon UK for the eARC.
What an utterly lovely book this is, I loved it!
The story features 69-year old Alice and her two grown sons. The story is told in each of their voices.
Alice has been unhappily married to Ken for 50 years and fantasized about leaving him. She's also trying to bond with her successful banker son, his Russian wife and their small sons...unsuccessfully.
Her other son is in France, basically lost to the family. It's not easy to like Alice, her husband and her banker son's family, but I felt sorry for each one of them, it's like they couldn't get out of their own ways. None of them are happy, but don't know why. Her husband, on the other hand, is a bully and doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities.
When Alice finally leaves him, sporting a big black eye, it feels to her like she's in an out of body experience and eventually reached a peace she would never have thought possible.
The family dynamics are sad, but beautifully and sensitively drawn, I could totally empathize with them and was very happy with the ending. Nick Alexander writes such exquisite books! Highly recommended.

Another fantastic book from Nick Alexander. His characters always draw you in and are totally believable so much so that you feel that you know them. He is a kern observer of human nature and this runs through all his books. The books are a treat to read and I always look forward to the next one.