Book Review: "Fortunate Son: A Novel"
Category: Books & Writing...
Posted Monday, March 27, 2006 at 01:28 PM [GMT-6]

Last night I finished reading an advance copy1 of Walter Mosley's latest novel, entitled Fortunate Son: A Novel (slated for release on April 10, 2006).

Fortunate Son: A Novel (the latter qualifier apparently intended to distinguish this book from a similarly named volume about George W. Bush's rise to the presidency) describes the first couple of decades in the lives of two boys -- one black, the other white -- whose shared experiences as very young children created an inexplicable bond that years of separation by the most bizarre of situations could not shake.

For one boy, life came easy; everything he touched turned to gold, it seemed. For the other, nothing was easy...nothing seemed fair. Those around him gave him the perverse nickname of "Lucky," as an ironic joke. Yet the former moved through life feeling empty, if he felt anything at all, while Lucky had the ability to find joy in mundane details of otherwise heartbreaking situations.

The boys' lives take vastly divergent paths, and we are led to understand that neither will end well unless those paths can somehow be rejoined.

The author has crafted a plotline that moves quickly and efficiently. Scenes of dramatic confrontation are presented matter-of-factly (including multiple very explicit sex scenes) and without warning (think anti-Stephen-King). The overall effect leaves the reader wondering what's important and what's insignificant, and that situation is exacerbated by the way the main characters seem unaffected by any of the trials and challenges they face. One boy sees the best in everything; the other seems possessed with some god-like ability to transcend the things that affect mere mortals. Even the book's conclusion, where vexing loose ends are neatly tied up, is presented in such a way as to leave the reader in doubt about whether or not it is really a "happy ending."

As an exercise in how to expertly juggle multiple plotlines and improbable characters, Fortunate Son succeeds brilliantly. Unfortunately, I couldn't resist peeking behind the curtain rather than simply taking it all at face value, and came away with nothing more substantial than cotton candy or the final glint of the setting sun on a Pacific coast wave.

1Disclosure: This book was provided to me for review purposes via the Online Marketing program of the Time Warner Book Group. I was intrigued by the amount of editing that is obviously done between the "advance reading copy" and the final publication, judging by the number of typos and other errors in the volume I read. This was my first glimpse into this aspect of the publishing process.

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Comments

Here's a perfect example of a well-written book review, and nobody's commented. But I'm at a loss for words myself. Nice post. :-)

Posted by: Gwynne at March 27, 2006 09:13 PM

Thanks, Gwynne. I would be amazed if anyone has a comment about this book or the review. I didn't exactly craft it in such a way as to stimulate discussion...if that's even possible for a book that won't be published for another couple of weeks.

You might say that I had an obligation to review this book; otherwise, I probably would have let it pass.

Posted by: Eric at March 27, 2006 09:44 PM

That is a well written review. I'll have to snag the book myself. Thanks, Eric, I'm always on the lookout for good reading. Steve says the only thing that outweighs my book purchases is possibly shoes, which is a statement I do not understand. Maybe somewhere there's a book that will explain such;).

Posted by: Janie at March 30, 2006 07:20 PM

PS - I know you didn't give it 5 stars, but you made it sound interesting enough I'll try it out...I'll let you know what I think.

Posted by: Janie at March 30, 2006 07:23 PM

Janie, I will be interested to hear your thoughts about the book.

Posted by: Eric at March 30, 2006 10:05 PM
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