Adam Haslett

2 months ago | lesen.de | Adam Haslett |Elif Shafak |Cormac McCarthy |George Eliot

A mother and son, estranged but yearning for reunion, reckon at last with the secret that has kept them apart for decades in this highly anticipated novel by one of the most talented American writers of his generationAt 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.

Jan 11, 2025 | bookreporter.com | Adam Haslett

A friend of mine recommended Adam Haslett's earlier work to me, mentioning that his portrayal of depression in IMAGINE ME GONE is the most authentic one she has ever read. Haslett continues to excel at depicting complicated emotional responses in his latest novel, MOTHERS AND SONS. The book alternates perspectives between Peter Fischer, an immigration lawyer working in New York City, and his mother Ann, a former Episcopal priest who now runs a women's retreat center in rural Vermont.

Jan 10, 2025 | lithub.com | Adam Haslett

This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. Article continues after advertisementWe all of us have voices in our head. Most of them rattle on about quotidian matters (Brush your teeth, Remember your keys, I want pesto); many of them anxious (You’re late! Will this pain in my back never end? I’m out of pesto!); and some even dulcet (How vivid that tree against that sky, Thank goodness for my friend, This is the best parmesan I’ve ever tasted).

Jan 7, 2025 | entertainment-mag.com | Adam Haslett

Peter needs Ann. The question is how, despite their superficial similarity, this mother and son came to be parted, and why Ann has been unable to respond to Peter’s obvious angst.

Jan 7, 2025 | nytimes.com | Adam Haslett

MOTHERS AND SONS, by Adam HaslettThree novels in, a writer is running low on secrets. We know for sure, now, what Adam Haslett likes to put down on the page. Dead men (usually fathers). Widows (usually nature-loving). The children left behind (usually siblings, one of whom grows up a gay man). Unequal gay relationships, in which one partner provides sexual favors but yearns to be looked at and kissed. Houses as sites of memory and complicated belonging. Pity, shame and loneliness.