My Darling boy was an excellent read. I loved the writing and it was propulsive. Great character study. I would read more from this author.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕?

My Darling Boy is an interesting read, one that is full of lively people, often misfits, trying to get through life while attempting to hold themselves and others together. It is about keeping hope alive while everything is unraveling, and all signs point to failure. Florida is a unique state, and yes sometimes strange, I admit this as a Florida native living here currently, but this could take place anywhere. When Olney’s drug addicted son Culley disappears in the underbelly of South Florida, he sets out to find him. A retired staff writer and copy editor, now a part time worker at a miniature golf place (not for money, but a cure for loneliness), divorced from Cully’s mother, he spends his time with fond memories of their once happy little family. The problem is the truths he holds dear of reading bedtime stories and family coziness may not be the way Cully remembers things. In truth, when Cully first started dabbling, it was easier to think it was a phase, typical teenager behavior even his friends comforted him with this belief even if his ex-wife didn’t buy it at the time. There was a horrific tragedy, a second chance, but nothing took, in fact his son’s misery and depression, the pain of living in his own head is the very thing that pushes him to use. Pain clinics for his fix, a total obliteration of the sweet, funny boy Cully once was.

Rehab hasn’t worked, family therapy, enabling with financial support, programs, nothing has pulled Cully from the abyss of addiction. Not their love and attention nor threats. Olney struggles with what many mothers and fathers do, are they loving a phantom, a memory, who their child was before the addiction changed them? Is the core still there? How many times can you break your heart trying to save someone who is hellbent on self-destruction? Drug addicted children (even adult children) is a too common tale, but Dufresne gives the reader a close up look as Olney is on his son’s heels, always about to reach him physically and emotionally. Along the way he interacts with an array of unique people who help him, some with their own sad stories. It can be a depressing read at times but with an injection of humor. Even when Olney and his girlfriend Mireille play private eyes together trying to find Culley, we know their future together is short. It isn’t a happy ending novel, but a too real one for many. The ending is realistic, sadly many families are going through a similar struggle. I am a fan of John Dufresne, this isn’t my favorite novel by him but still worth the read.

Publication Date: January 14, 2024

W. W. Norton & Company

A tragic topical novel about Olney who is searching for his son Cully- his son who does not want to be found and who only wants a fix. While this is described as tragicomic, you, like me, might struggle to find the humor. Dufresne cuts close to the bone with his characters and their issues-likely some readers will recognize themselves or someone they know. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The people Olney meets are the light in this tale but go into this knowing that it's a heavy (although not heavy handed) read.

Encapsulating a strained relationship between father and son, My Darling Boy follows a myriad of characters who are connected to the father and son duo Olney and Cully. Olney has been searching for his son in Southern Florida for a while now, trying to convince him to return home and rehab from his addictions. Cully, though, wants to make his own way through life and believes his father is misremembering how "good" their relationship was when he was growing up. They two continually cross paths like ships in the night, almost connecting or briefly encountering each other. As the story builds, Olney expands his network of friends helping his search for his son and Cully wrestles with his desire to get better while warring with his own stubbornness, a stubbornness that is bolstered by his addiction.

I really wanted to like this book, as it focuses on the less-often seen relationship between a father and his son (usually it's mother and son, mother and daughter, or father and daughter). This is an important relationship to highlight, especially in our current society where male emotions are often still considered peripheral. However, I really struggled to get through the story because it felt like I was just reading trauma-porn. The book is described as tragicomic, but I don't remember anything I'd consider that meets this descriptor... It felt like none of the characters, not even the one-off background characters, were allowed to have anything good happen in their lives. I think the only thing I genuinely remember being neutral/positive is that Neutron surprised everyone by giving birth to healthy kittens in the motel. From a more literary perspective, rather than a content perspective, I was left feeling by the end of the book as though none of the characters made any personal or character growth. Olney ended still obsessing over a past that likely didn't exist, and Cully ended still running from his loved ones.

DNF - Althought I was eager to read this book, it didn't end up working for me in the end. I'm sure there is an audience out there who will appreciate the story for all that it holds.

I loved the premise for this novel. I have been into literary fiction lately. Unfortunately it came in PDF form and I coud not read the small print comfortably. I wasn't able to zoom it comfortably.

Thank you to W. W. Norton and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was really excited for this book, but sadly it fell flat for me. I'm a little on the fence because throughout the book I had to highlight some really good, heavy hitting, sentences. But overall, it was a slough to get through. There are a lot of characters to keep track of. The writing is a bit chaotic and random. Which is a bummer because SOME of the writing is GREAT!

I was really excited about the premise of this book, and while it did somewhat deliver, I found the writing style a bit chaotic. As soon as I’d get really into the mail storyline, it was switch to a subset of characters that drew me away from the overall story. I recognize that the chaotic mess may have been intentional and was maybe supposed to contribute to the overall story given it was a complex story, but it distracted me from really getting into the book.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.