Mothers and Sons

As the first legit rating and review of Haslett's brilliant new novel, it delights me to be able to give it an unequivocable rave. Many thanks to Netgalley, Little Brown and Company, and the author for providing an ARC eBook copy, six months before publication, in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.

It's been eight long years since Haslett's last novel, the equally enthralling Imagine Me Gone, which was my favorite book of 2016; I was oddly enough wondering just recently what had happened to him, when I became aware of this new one - which was certainly worth the wait. Haslett has only published three books prior to this and has two Pulitzer Prize and two NBA nominations for those - and suspect this will also garner major awards notice and perhaps finally get him the accolades and awards he so richly deserves.

The story is in essence three separate strands, told in alternating sections: Peter, the MC, is a 40-year-old gay lawyer specializing in immigration and deportation cases, defending undocumented aliens, usually the victims of violence in their native lands, from facing extradition, who narrates his story in first person. The other major titular character is his mother Ann, whose story is told in omniscient third person, from whom Peter has been estranged for some 25 years; she and her partner Clare run a women's retreat center in Vermont, which Peter's derisive and snarky sister Liz refers to as 'lesbian camp'. The third strand is flashbacks to when Peter was an inquisitive 15 year-old, first becoming aware of his same-sex attraction, and his relationship with Jared, a beautiful older boy, that results in a devastating and shocking act that colors his entire life and is responsible for his estrangement from Ann.

Although the book is tightly plotted and thematically cohesive, as with most literary fiction, it is thoroughly character driven - and as well as Peter and Ann, it explores several other mother/son combinations: Peter's Albanian client Vasel and his protective mother; his Honduran client Sandra, and her son Felipe; Liz and her adorable 5-year-old rascal, Charlie; Jared and his intriguingly beautiful mother Susan; and even Peter's father Richard's own troubles with his mother.

I don't want to get into more specifics on the plot for danger of spoilers, but let me just add that, as always, Haslett's prose is effortlessly and propulsively readable, without being overly pretentious or flowery. I am certain this will end up as one of my three top reads of 2024. And perhaps damning with faint praise, but in the right hands, this would make a terrific film (Meryl Streep, call your agent! she'd would be a shoo-in for playing Ann!)