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Sep 27, 2017InsJavert rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I have been doing some heavy duty reading in politics and theology and found myself needing a break. I was attracted to "The Son" when I watched the first 30-40 minutes of the recently released movie. I purposefully stop watching the movie so I would get the full impact from the book first. When I started "The Son", immediately the difference from what I saw in the movie and what I was reading was dramatically different [and that is a surprise to who?]. I was immediately drawn in and intrigued from the very first page. If any of you readers (listeners) have read "Lonesome Dove" and hopefully the series, you should get this book. Not that these two are the same, but the similarities in style, authenticity of time, life, events, etc., are similar. Simply put, it is the not the glorious romanticized days of cowboys and Indians. Not at all, you see the life and times as they probably really were; and it a dark picture. Philipp Meyer provides the reader with the life and times of different members of the same family throughout different times and generations. I will say, it took of getting used to at first, because you jump from the very early 1800's all the way up to the late 2000's. Each character a different generation, a different time, different events effecting them and their families. At the same time, Mr. Meyer effectively kept these lives and generations woven together by a single thread, the family; the land, their pride and prosperity. The story; a reflection on life! It is stark, it is cold, and it is certainly dark. The descriptions of the sheer deprivation of what one man can do to another, the prejudices and hatred, combined with the rationalization and justification of our actions, for the purposes of our deeds, the cost on family and loved ones, and all the other aspects of life, is told with naked realism and bluntness. You follow the characters from youth to death, seeing all aspects of life from youthful vigor, exuberance, and optimism, to the waining days of old age, mellowed, tempered, reflective, and certainly regretful. So many aspects of life; people, times, are so masterfully intertwined throughout this book. I certainly had a lot to think about when I finished this book, and Philipp Meyer ended it, I believe, with the intent of leaving the reader to be contemplative and reflective, not so much about the story, but about life; well done. This is book you should add to your reading list. You will not be disappointed.