Customer Reviews

Century's Son: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I read this moving, and beautifuly written, accont of a family trying to put into a focus the suicide of their son, I kept re-reading the dog Prince's coments. The entire ankst of the family can be seen in the dog's (youthful) padding around seeking the lost son, and then her various thoghts about the family as she ages, and ... Can't reveal plot lines here. If I were a teacher, I would reccomend this book to young students. The incidence of teenage suicide is so real, and disturbing, that this novel, and the fully developed lives of the characters after the suicide, might be a powerful message.

The sophisticated writing of this author indicates wide popular audinece, but somethow I don't think he will find it with this book. It brought many tears to my eyes, but I am old enought to
have lived through some of these scenes. And have old dogs.

This is a painful novel, from which comes no resolution, just hope, - which is what I think the author intended.

GMS

Century's Son was a truly rewarding read. if you enjoy rich characterization, then you will enjoy Boswell's writing. Few authors are able to create such textured characters with as much feeling and depth as Boswell does here. If anything, the only character that did not strike me as particularly real or original is Peter Kamenev, who is slightly stereotyped as the precocious, over-sexed, hyperbolic old man. Nevertheless, Kamenev if extremely enjoyable as a character as well.

The only reason why people may not like this book is that there were no earth-shattering developments in the plot. Nothing truly happened to resolve the lingering tension in the book. But to me, that's precisely the point. The richness of the characters is not drowned out by a schmaltzy plot device. Every character is allowed to develop and reveal his faults at their own pace. They develop organically.

You know that you've found a satisfying read when your chief complaint is that the book is too short!

Boswell's new novel is, in short, the product of an experienced and risk-taking novelist working to the fullest extent of his talents. His usual abilities are on display -- heartbreaking characters, keen obervations, crisp and stirring prose -- yet every aspect has been upped a notch. CENTURY'S SON manages to capture the varied rhythms of life at this particular collision of time and place and shape them into a work of towering literary merit. I have read no better novel this year, and don't expect to read one as good for a very long time.

Peter Kamenev is one of the best characters I've seen in years. He's charmingly rude, a mercilessly opportunistic and engaging raconteur--ubiquitous like Zelig, but as whole and flawed as anyone you'll find in Tolstoy. Boswell's characters are one of his great strengths and throughout this book I was struck again and again by how wonderful it is to find such a gloriously flawed cast. Reading Century's Son reminds you of how it is to fall in love--you feel the vulnerable thrill of being unmasked because the relationships portrayed in these pages are as complex and convincing as those you've experienced for yourself. A deeply satisfying and humane novel that I recommend to anyone.

This is an interesting, different kind of novel. In the opening pages, we meet Morgan, a garbage collector, husband of Zhenya, a college professor. The reader quickly learns that six years earlier, Morgan and Zhenya's 12 year old son, Phillip, committed suicide. The circumstances surrounding this "accidental death," as Morgan calls it, are made clear to the reader up front. The reader is also privvy to another piece of information: the paternity of Petey, daughter of Emma, Phillip's sister, now 20 years old.

Author Boswell carefully sets this stage, and the reader is given the sense that the family has stagnated here for some time. But then a new character enters the scene: Zhenya's father, Peter Ivanovich Kamenev. Kamenev, who claims to be one hundred years old (hence the book's title), also insists that the has involved in various pivotal moments in history, including the missed opportunity to assasinate Stalin. Zhenya, a political scientist, suspects that many of her father's stories are lies and slowly builds evidence against him. At the same time, Morgan's partner, a young thug named Danny, is arrested under suspicion of a gun shooting, so both Danny and Kamenev wind up living with the family for a period of time.

Although the above might sound like an exciting premise with plenty of potential for action, in reality, the entire middle part of the book moves extremely slowly. It is not until the last quarter of the novel or so that the pace begins to pick up a bit, with greater developement of both the plot and the characters. At this point, it becomes mainly Zhenya's story, and Kamenev, while still a catalyst at times, fades into the background. Although there definitely were some interesting aspects to this book, my overall rating would only be about 3 1/2 stars.

this book was absolutely amazing. the emotions, themes, ideas, etc., throughout the book are incredible. i've never been so entertained by a novel. i highly suggest this to anyone who likes to laugh, cry, and read.

A wonderfully told story with great character development.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a pleasure reading fiction that developed the characters as Boswell did. This book really kept my attention in ways I wish many others did.