4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
A Faithful Son by Michael Scott Garvin is a striking tale of coming-of-age, loss, sexuality, and self-discovery, filled with rich characters and beautiful prose. The story follows Zach Nance from his childhood in Durango, Colorado to adult years in Los Angeles. With colourful characters in a small town, the townspeople are significant entities in the lives of Zach and his family. Zach faces considerable challenges, including the death of a loved one, his father's eventual slide into alcoholism, and facing his own sexual orientation when there is no acceptance of homosexuality. As the title suggests, the story is based on the idea of Zach as a ‘faithful son’ and duty to family factors into the novel till the very end.
Filled with vibrant writing and vivid with descriptions that open windows into a different world, A Faithful Son shows the evolution of Zach’s observant and deeply sensitive personality in a rural perspective, alongside America’s shifting economic conditions. Zach, an old-fashioned soul, accepts both dark times and life’s pleasures as his due. As a closeted gay young man raised by a devoutly religious mother, Zach attempts to navigate life, entrusting his faith in a God he questions.
My favourite part of the storyline was that each phase of Zach’s journey – his childhood, teen years, adulthood- was dealt with separately. Rather than a singular plotline, the novel follows Zach’s decisions episodically and provides a beautifully realistic perspective of life. There is painful clarity to the life Zach leads and he is never free of constraint, but the story weaves in the choices he makes at every crossroad he reaches in life.
The author delves deeply into the characters, and it is reflected in the compelling prose. While the story does not flow with surprising twists, it is populated with extremely believable characters and a pragmatic line of thought. The families in the small town share the richness of their beliefs and the community finds joy in its strong connections to the church.
Other than Zach, the book does not have any defined protagonists or antagonists, but the characters feel like a natural progression of the story. Written in a matter-of-fact tone, the book has multi-faceted characters with stories and secrets of their own. At times, the novel feels like it borders on non-fiction, but it is just a representation of the author’s writing skill and ability to draw in a reader.
A Faithful Son has a wonderful depth of characterisation and reveals Zach's sensuality in an understated way that subtly transfers to the reader. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and I would strongly recommend this book to lovers of literature that exposes the roots of recognisable lives without unnecessary flash.
******
A Faithful Son
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Kinnera's review? Post a comment saying so!
