Mothers and Sons, Adam Haslett
Mothers and Sons, Adam Haslett
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Mothers and Sons
A Novel

Author: Adam Haslett

Narrator: Andrew Gibson, Janet Metzger

Unabridged: 10 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/07/2025


Synopsis

A mother and son, estranged for years, must grapple with the shared secret that drove their lives apart in this enthralling story about family, forgiveness, and how a fleeting act of violence can change a life forever, by "one of the country's most talented writers" (Wall Street Journal)

At forty, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness, the event that he has avoided for twenty years returns to haunt him.

Ann, his mother, who runs a women's retreat center she founded after leaving his father, is hurt by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago put behind her the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.

With unsurpassed emotional depth, Mothers and Sons reveals all that is lost by looking away from the past and the love that might be restored by facing it. In his spellbinding new novel, Adam Haslett demonstrates yet again his mastery of “a rich assortment of literary gifts” (New York Times).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Milly on September 26, 2020

Bueno, amo a este señor. Me toca fibras muy profundas. Dice las cosas como me gusta escucharlas. Escribe sobre lo que me importa. Y ama a su madre, como yo a la mía. Adorable texto.......more

Goodreads review by Nicolás on October 24, 2022

Buscaba a diario el momento de ocio para sentarme a leer “Madres e hijos”: lo empecé y me llevo de inmediato a ese tono del primer libro que leí de él (Otra vida por vivir). Kallifatides te sumerge en su mundo, que puede no ser muy diferente al de cualquier persona que emigra, pero lo hace con una b......more

Goodreads review by Elena on August 03, 2021

Theodor Kallifatides (Mololai, Greece, 1938) emigrated to Sweden at the age of 25. He had no idea of Swedish, but in a short time he became a successful writer in that language. He published more than forty books written in Swedish, but recently he wrote in Greek three books which recover the memory......more

Goodreads review by Dani on May 29, 2021

A la hora de comenzar una reseña no es que exista ninguna norma o regla (o tal vez las haya pero no las conozco y, en consecuencia, no las sigo por ignorancia) sino yo particularmente tengo la costumbre de iniciarlas con un pequeño resumen (lo más aséptico posible, para no desvelar demasiado de la t......more

Goodreads review by Isabel on May 03, 2025

Que os puedo decir... AMÉ a este autor. Cómo se pueden transmitir tantas cosas en tan pocas páginas? Me ha emocionado y sin duda seguiré leyendo su obra.......more


Quotes

Mothers and Sons is both moving and deeply compelling, a story about the search for our own humanity, and the lengths we will go to maintain it. A new book by Adam Haslett is always cause for celebration. He is one of our very best writers.”—Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake and The Dutch House

Mothers and Sons is like sonar in a lake, pinging out everything submerged, the hidden stories, the shames and the joys. There’s nothing else like it. Haslett’s characters feel so real, their choices so hard, their lives so true. He is everything you want in a writer.”—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author of Less

“A family-in-crisis story that keenly captures deep-seated fears and regrets…The strength of Haslett’s storytelling is its deliberation, slowly peeling back the veneers of Peter's and Ann’s professional accomplishments and cool public personas to reveal storms of guilt and fear…Haslett’s sophisticated grasp of the ways that people over-police their feelings makes it a remarkably acute and effective character study."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Irresistible…Themes of guilt, new beginnings, survival, and violence permeate the excellent and subtle story of characters grappling with events beyond their control, and the author, himself an immigration lawyer, delivers a deeply personal portrait of Peter’s tenacious advocacy for his clients. This matches the heights of Haslett’s best work.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)