Child of My Right Hand [Paperback]

Eric Goodman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

The stunning third novel from acclaimed author Eric Goodman is the story of a middle class family: college professors Jack and Genna Barish and their two children, fourteen-year-old Lizzy and seventeen-year-old Simon. The four have just moved to Tipton, Ohio, a small town divided by bigotry and class tensions, when Simon announces to his family, and eventually to the town, what his parents have long suspected-that he is gay.

As Jack and Genna struggle to deal with their son's sexuality, his oppressive, ever-present teenaged angst and the conflicts that are raised within their marriage, the complex dynamics of a family unfold: love, doubt, betrayal, and sympathy-all strikingly caught by the author. Equally vivid are the Tipton residents' spectrum of reactions to Simon, ranging from open acceptance to acts of violent rage. This is a beautifully written and complex work of fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A gay adolescent boy's coming of age tests the social fabric of a small Midwestern town in Goodman's poignant fourth novel, inspired by his experience with his own son's sexuality. Simon Barish is the openly gay son of academics Genna and Jack, who relocate from Cincinnati to take teaching positions in Tipton, Ohio. The pervasive smalltown homophobia and looming threat of violence keep the couple and Simon's younger sister, Lizzie, constantly on edge, while Simon's sweet but raunchy efforts to find his first boyfriend could land him in jail if he picks the wrong would-be paramour. Compelling parental subplots emerge when Jack, a social scientist, abandons his study of Nazi eugenics to examine the role of heredity in gay children, and Genna embarks on a search for her birth father. The book's greatest strength is its character writing, with Goodman compassionately presenting Simon's erratic charms as well as the foibles of Genna and Jack, each of whom is well developed enough to carry the book. The entertaining cast of gay secondary figures who surface on a family trip to San Francisco balance the narrative, softening the overall tension. Though the near-tragic ending feels rushed and formulaic, Goodman eloquently addresses many of the cultural conflicts that help define American family life in the early 21st century.
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From Booklist

When Simon Barish, 17, comes out of the closet, it's certainly no surprise to his parents, but he is harassed at school in the conservative midwestern town where he lives, and one day there's a cross burning in the yard. It turns out that Simon's mom's biological dad is gay--she's never contacted him-- and the family trip to San Francisco to meet him and his long-term partner in the gay capital of the world is a turning point for everyone. Woven into the story is the scientific controversy about whether homosexuality is hereditary. Simon's dad is a scientist, and he's researching whether finding a gay gene would lead to more abortions. More gripping than the intellectual arguments is the honesty of the personal drama. Simon is wonderfully drawn, from his feelings of lust and romance through his rising excitement at landing the lead in the school musical. Best of all are the family scenes, from mutual irritation to furious quarrel to soppy embrace. With heartbreaking honesty, Goodman shows that they love each other, even if each of them can be "a royal pain." Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; First edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402203063
• ISBN-13: 978-1402203060
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,968,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great read, October 1, 2004

By 

ivan novakov - See all my reviews

This review is from: Child of My Right Hand (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this novel tremendously. Eric Goodman writes compassionately, with a great deal of psychological insight, humor and eros, about a family, covering not only the story of a boy's coming out in a small prejudiced town but also several other individual dramas in an unpredictable and highly satisfying way. I am a slow reader but I couldn't put this novel down until I was finished. I stayed up all night and yet in the morning I wasn't tired but rather energized by the writer's intelligence.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning emotionally-rich novel of a family with a gay son, January 10, 2005

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Child of My Right Hand (Paperback)

In a novel inspired by the author's own experience with his son's homosexuality, we are invited to share the tentative world of Jack and Genna Barrish, who both teach at small town college in Ohio, where they moved from Cincinnati in hopes that it would be a better atmosphere for their two teenagers. Simon is seventeen and openly gay, and quickly becomes a target of harrassment in the town's lacking school district. Elizabeth (Lizzy) is 14, a budding "goth girl" with a thick skin developed over teasing she receives about her brother. The couple are also hoping for a new beginning following mutual instances of marital infidelity, but neither one completely trusts the other since. Simon's sexuality has also become an issue between them, since they both believe that it is mostly genetic, and Genna never learned the identity of her birth father before her mother's death. Jack, a social science professor, abandons a project on Nazi eugenics to start a study on the biological origins of homosexuality, which Genna resents somewhat as an attempt to "blame" her for Simon's sexuality, and encourages her to find out about her birth father.

A memorable family trip to visit Genna's birth father, with a landmark event for young Simon and a reawakening event for his father Jack, highlights the second half of the novel. The family's love for each other is challenged by the continued harrassment at school and at home over Simon, the discovery of Jack's affair with Simon's guidance counselor, the community's reactions to publicity about threats made against the family, possible charges over a sexually-explicit note passed by Simon to a classmate who is a minor, death threats, and Jack's guilt over his real feelings about Simon's sexuality, make for an emotionally-charged, engaging story that explores the heartbreaks and affirmations that can coincide as a family deals with a member's "coming out" to them, and how they must be strong so it does not erode the love they share. With the additional insights about homosexuality, given in the context of the father's research, I'd especially recommend this for educators and parents of gay kids who have accepted them but have some unresolved "issues" they may not have completely worked through.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family struggles, December 16, 2006

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Child of My Right Hand (Paperback)

The story revolves around the husband and wife Profs Barish, and their two children Simon and Lizzie. The Barish family has just moved to Tipton, a conservative and narrow community, two weeks before school opens, with Simon about to start his first year in high school. Jack and Genna Barish's marriage is a little shaky, Jack has been tempted before, and there will be more temptation to come in the from Simon's special teacher Marla Lindstrom. Simon is a little effeminate, overweight, openly gay, not the best of students but is redeemed by his outstanding singing ability. Jack is involved in research into the theory of an hereditary gay gene; that Genna's lost father turns out to be gay seems to lend weight to the theory.
The story concentrates mainly on Jack and Simon; Jack and his relationship with Genna and the diminutive Marla Lindstrom, and his research; and Simon and his problems with school bullies, his special friendship with two boys, and his singing activities. It also include a Klan like cross burning, a sweet shop owning a gay couple, and the well intentioned provision of a gorgeous young man for a gay sex initiation.
This is a complex story, and at times seems to get a little bogged down in specifics, but it is saved by the well drawn characters, who despite their human failings remain appealing. That the overweight, lazy, slightly effeminate, attention seeking and rather spoilt Simon can still come as a adorable says a lot for the writers ability. A good read if you can maintain interest through all the diversions.