Oh my, this book was so, so beautiful. Don’t Cry for Me was the first book I’d read by this author, and Isaac’s Song hit me even more profoundly than that novel did.

This coming-of-age story follows Isaac over decades, as he struggles to live up to the expectations of a father with highly traditional views on manhood and masculinity. With the encouragement of his therapist, Isaac begins writing his story down, and in doing so begins to understand the dynamic of his family and the challenges his father faced.

This novel is a testament to the complicated relationships between fathers and sons, and the tension between masculinity and authenticity that often exists for boys. Additionally, this novel confronts the intersections of race, sexuality, and manhood; the expectations that are imposed on black boys and men, and the long-term consequences of those expectations. Isaac and his father, Jacob, are both imperfect characters who make mistakes, misjudge one another, and leave too much unsaid, but ultimately, this is a book about healing.

Daniel Black’s lyrical prose is a pleasure to read. More than once, I had to pause and re-read sections just to fully absorb them. This story’s writing is fearless, and I’m certain this novel will stick with me for a very long time.

Five stars, no doubt.

I was devasted by this beautiful novel about a Black gay man who tries to reconcile what he knew about his Dad who didn't accept his homosexuality. It's framed as journal entries writeen whilst in therapy, so the emotional depth sneaks up on you.

Isaac's Song beautifully encapsulates the intersectional experiences of a Black gay man living in America. I really enjoyed the explorations of sexuality and masculinity, and thought it was all tied really nicely together with the long lasting legacy of slavery and oppression. One of my favourite aspects of the novel was the acceptance of moral ambiguity; unpacking how we often label people in our stories as heroes or villain's, when the reality is we are all made up of good and bad decisions, ideals, and actions. Pealing back the layers of Isaac's father was so endearing and enlightening. I also really liked the framing narrative of Isaac working through his life story with his therapist--I actually wished this continued through to the ending, which I thought was a bit abrupt. The writing itself was a tad too simplistic for me, there were moments where I thought the narrative could have been more subtle (more show, less tell). Overall, the book takes readers on a journey that forces them to reflect on their own life right alongside Isaac and confront everything they thought they knew about the past.

Deep

The first time that I read Don’t Cry for Me in 2022, I was desperate to get Isaac’s side of the story. I was overjoyed when I found out about this book. Isaac was such a lovable character for me in both books. This time we get to hear how his father’s failures and successes shaped him. We also learn how his mother left her mark on his world. This was a touching coming of age story that felt like it spoke for so many men. I loved that both Isaac and his father were able to reflect and celebrate the love that they had for each other.

While I really enjoyed this book, it didn’t give me the story that I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear Isaac’s response to his father’s letters. I wanted it to be a direct reply. Instead, I got to hear how Isaac perceived the events that were presented in the previous book. There was no back and forth dialogue. In Isaac’s retelling of his experience as a writer, a few of his stories were woven into this book. They were interesting, but I felt like Black wanted to share more of his own work. He just passed it off as Isaac’s work. The final piece that he presented was a slave story that Isaac was working on. I don’t read slave books. I understood what he was trying to do with that element, but it’s not what I wanted to read.

I feel like this book gave me closure. It tied up the loose ends from Don’t Cry for Me. I think fans of historical fiction will really enjoy this story. Thank you to NetGalley, Hanover Square Press, and Daniel Black for the advanced copy for me to review.

Actual rating 4.5 stars.

I want Isaac’s therapist! I highlighted so many of her observations! Isaac’s Song is a beautifully written story, that almost reads like a biography.

The first pages took my breath away. The story starts when Isaac’s father dies and Isaac cries to his surprise. Weeks later, he visits a therapist because he loses weight and hardly sleeps. Isaac’s meetings with his therapist are the bones of this book and with her he goes back to his childhood and how he perceived his parents, his Blackness, and his sexuality.

“Apologies don’t heal the wounded. They’re for the perpetrator.”

This story digs deep. It’s about love and what we feel and what we think happened. Isaac’s relationship with his dad was always difficult. But while he rethinks what happened, he finds out he might have judged his father too harshly. And might put his mother on a pedestal she didn’t always deserve.

“Some of the truths you discover, Isaac, are going to conflict with what you feel in your heart. Still, don’t back away from them. This is what you’re looking for. It comes to make us reconsider what we think we know.”

I flew through the pages and through Isaac’s life. His childhood, his time at university, when he started working and still didn’t feel comfortable as a Black gay man.

”You become an agent of your own existence the minute you stop blaming others for what they did to you. Those who hurt us cannot heal us. That’s our job.”

When I read his father’s letter, tears leaped into my eyes. The love that shone through those sentences. The fact that his father tried, even though he called his son a sissy and girly. I really need to read Daniel Black’s Don’t Cry for Me. I think it will make me bawl my eyes out.

I absolutely adore Daniel Black’s writing and am so glad I had the opportunity to read his latest work. I find his stories to be incredibly moving and this was no exception. His characters bring a unique level of depth and complexity that he manages to establish early on, which can be difficult. I look forward to reading his next work!

ISAAC'S SONG tells the life journey of a black gay man named Isaac Swinton, from his childhood in the 1970's to his adulthood in the 2000's.
We first learn, in the present days timeline, that Isaac's father passed away recently and he goes to therapy seeking comfort and healing. His therapist advices him to write his memories, ever since childhood, in order to heal and re-think what and how he thinks everything happened to him since he was a boy. To re-evaluate all the events from his upbringing, at home, at school, everywhere.
By doing so, Isaac starts to learn and realise that many of his memories failed him.
Isaac has always had a bumpy and complicated relationship with his father. His father wouldn't accept a son that wasn't a 'real man' or a quitter, so he pushed Isaac in many ways, confronted him, sometimes hit him and ignored him, too. Isaac, on the other hand, would desperately seek his father's approval and respect all the time. In the meantime, he would go to his mother for refuge, love, comfort and tolerance.

While Isaac writes his memories in chronological order, we, the readers, follow his struggles and his tough journey as a closeted gay boy, bullied and despised all the time for not being 'too manly', to a bullied gay teenager, and later during his time in college - where he had his happiest moments feeling more free and comfortable in his own skin (both from being black and queer). As a fully grown adult we follow Isaac's growth and self-awareness into the human being he wants to be: a free black gay artist, as he aspires to be a novelist
In the last 25% of this book we actually read ideas and some passages of the novel Isaac is working on (which, personally, I loved it - I do love the idea of 'a book inside a book').

Well, what can I say about this book? I loved it! Daniel Black did it again!
This is beautifully written, poetic, emotional, painful to read sometimes, for sure (for any gay person who struggled to get their father's approval and acceptance this book might be triggering), and the social commentaries and racism the author dissects here help to make this story even more raw and realistic. It surely could have been a real life person's memoir.
One of my favourite parts of this novel was the moment Isaac, as part of his healing process, goes back home after his father died and when he gets there he finds several letters that his dad left him. That reminded me a lot of Daniel Black's last novel Don't Cry For Me - which is still a favourite of mine.
Not gonna lie: I sobbed like a little kid. Again.

Isaac Swinton has become easily my favourite character of 2024. Probably because even though Isaac Swinton is a fictional character, I'm sure there have been many REAL Isaac Swintons out there before (and maybe still are), and that is just heart-breaking.
I highly recommend this book to every single reader who likes character-driven stories and drama and...well, everyone. I cannot narrow down my recommendations of this novel. Sure, if you have read a Daniel Black novel before and enjoyed, this new one is a must!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for providing me with a free eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I've been waiting for this book to drop since I finished don't cry for me, not even knowing if he was going to do a response or not . firstly Daniel Black is an auto buy for me, he has not missed yet and Isaac's song is no different . From page one I am emerged into Isaac's upbringing and how he's currently dealing with it now. I ugly cried several times in this book and the most beautiful thing about it was Isaac's willingness to do the work to heal and forgive.

5/5

What a beautiful, heartwrenching, and multi-layered story! Isaac's Song is a compelling and haunting story about finding oneself, loving oneself, and forgiveness. It is also a hard story at times, dealing with racism, homophobia, generational/parental trauma and complicated relationships. I absolutely loved reading Isaac's poems and short stories and the vivid descriptions of how he constructed his characters and how they manifested for him and the reader.

I finished this in one sitting, and it will stay with me for a long time.

This was an incredibly raw story, and I will recommend it to everyone I know.

Thank you to NG and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful and heartbreaking novel about the complicated relationships that often exist between a gay son and his father. As a foil to Daniel Black’s previous novel Don’t Cry for Me, we follow Isaac, a gay man, as he confronts his complicated relationship with his now deceased father. In therapy, Isaac relives memories from childhood through adulthood, reflecting on how he never felt free to be himself as a gay person. He grapples with his father’s expectations and homophobia, trying to understand his father and his life experiences, but struggling to come to terms with his own culpability in their relationship and the idea that his father was his own person and had his own history and story. There’s commentary on racism, internalized homophobia, religious trauma, generational trauma, parental expectations, and gay culture. The conversations were nuanced but plainly written and understood. I found this so moving and beautiful. 10/10.