Everybody's Son (Large Print / Library Binding)

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Everybody's Son By Thrity Umrigar Cover Image
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Anton was only 9 years old in 1991 when his mother went in search of drugs, connected with her dealer, and spent the next 7 days in a drug induced haze while her son starved and sweltered.  It was a hot summer, the temperature was 95 degrees and the windows to the apartment were painted shut, beyond the ability of a thin 9 year old boy to open.  For his “safety” his mother had locked him into the apartment.  Food ran out on day 3, about the time the electricity was turned off for non-payment.  The telephone had been shut off earlier.  Anton drank tap water, trying to stave off the hunger and heat.  Finally, on day 7, weakened and worried about his mother, Anton threw a chair into the window and climbed out, cutting himself on a shard of glass.  A kindly police officer picked the kid up when he noticed him walking down the sidewalk trailing blood.   His “mom” was found just a few blocks away, higher than a kite. She didn’t mean to leave her son, just wanted a quick hit, but the dealer kept her high to work off her debt. Her first questions are about the son she did not intend to abandon in a hot building with no food.  Well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If Anton hadn’t thrown that chair and had died in that apartment her intentions wouldn’t have done him the slightest bit of good.  Anton is desperate to be reunited with his mother; she is desperate to have her son back.  Odd how a beaten dog will go back to its owner, a woman to her abuser, and a child is eager to return to a parent who could prove deadly. 

However the law is involved now, so Anton is put in the foster system and Juanita, the mother, is sent to jail. Judge David Coleman is a good man, from a privileged background, the son of a US Senator.  His son died in a tragic accident, David would like to have a child in their large home again, help out a kid in dire circumstances.  His wife, Delores, is a great mother; they live in a safe neighborhood with excellent schools, sharing all of that seems right.  He is a little nervous when he is offered Anton, not sure he is capable or the right choice for a traumatized black child.  His worries soon turn to a deep love for this golden child, he is filled with protectiveness and caring that will carry him past boundaries in order to keep Anton.  The boundaries crossed will come home to roost when Anton discovers the truth as an adult. 

The scenes with Anton coming to grips with the actions of people he loved and trusted, and his moral deliberations about the path he must take for the future are wonderful written and deeply moving.  Anton is an absolutely splendid character! That said, I am in David’s corner.  No second chances with the life of a child; abandon a 9 year old in a sweltering apartment without food and the title of “mother” is permanently abdicated.  Read the story and see if you agree, Umrigar, I suspect disagrees.  Her earlier book, The Weight of Heaven, also explores the question of the rights of birth parents against the wealth of a more affluent couple offering a potentially better life at a far too high a cost.  Both are brilliant books, however, Everybody’s Son is different.  It also explores the possibility of redemption and the concept of family. This birth parent is not only poor financially; she took actions that endangered her child.  Poverty versus wealth is not the main issue, responsible, loving parent versus a woman who risked the child’s life for her drugs.  This is a perfect book club selection!  It asks disturbing questions about moral choices, ethnicity, and the use of power granted by wealth and privilege.  It certainly had me engrossed in the story!

— Deon Stonehouse

Anton was only 9 years old in 1991 when his mother went in search of drugs, connected with her dealer, and spent the next 7 days in a drug induced haze while her son starved and sweltered.  It was a hot summer, the temperature was 95 degrees and the windows to the apartment were painted shut, beyond the ability of a thin 9 year old boy to open.  For his “safety” his mother had locked him into the apartment.  Food ran out on day 3, about the time the electricity was turned off for non-payment.  The telephone had been shut off earlier.  Anton drank tap water, trying to stave off the hunger and heat.  Finally, on day 7, weakened and worried about his mother, Anton threw a chair into the window and climbed out, cutting himself on a shard of glass.  A kindly police officer picked the kid up when he noticed him walking down the sidewalk trailing blood.   His “mom” was found just a few blocks away, higher than a kite.

 

She didn’t mean to leave her son, just wanted a quick hit, but the dealer kept her high to work off her debt. Her first questions are about the son she did not intend to abandon in a hot building with no food.  Well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If Anton hadn’t thrown that chair and had died in that apartment her intentions wouldn’t have done him the slightest bit of good.  Anton is desperate to be reunited with his mother; she is desperate to have her son back.  Odd how a beaten dog will go back to its owner, a woman to her abuser, and a child is eager to return to a parent who could prove deadly.  However the law is involved now, so Anton is put in the foster system and Juanita, the mother, is sent to jail.

 

Judge David Coleman is a good man, from a privileged background, the son of a US Senator.  David’s son died in a tragic accident, he would like to have a child in their large home again, help out a kid in dire circumstances.  His wife, Delores, is a great mother; they live in a safe neighborhood with excellent schools, sharing all of that seems right.  He is a little nervous when he is offered Anton, not sure he is capable or the right choice for a traumatized black child.  His worries soon turn to a deep love for this golden child, he is filled with protectiveness and caring that will carry him past boundaries in order to keep Anton.  The boundaries crossed will come home to roost when Anton discovers the truth as an adult.  The scenes with Anton coming to grips with the actions of people he loved and trusted, and his moral deliberations about the path he must take for the future are wonderful written and deeply moving. 

 

Anton is an absolutely splendid character! That said, I am in David’s corner.  No second chances with the life of a child; abandon a 9 year old in a sweltering apartment without food and the title of “mother” is permanently abdicated.  Read the story and see if you agree, Umrigar, I suspect disagrees.  Her earlier book, The Weight of Heaven, also explores the question of the rights of birth parents against the wealth of a more affluent couple offering a potentially better life at a far too high a cost.  Both are brilliant books, however, Everybody’s Son is different.  It also explores the possibility of redemption and the concept of family.  This is a perfect book club selection!  It asks disturbing questions about moral choices, ethnicity, and the use of power granted by wealth and privilege.

— Deon Stonehouse

Product Details
ISBN: 9781432843267
ISBN-10: 1432843265
Large Print: Yes
Publisher: Thorndike Press Large Print
Publication Date: December 6th, 2017
Pages: 554
Language: English