Customer Reviews

Child of My Right Hand

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Wow, what a book! Through all the craziness, Goodman elicits honest emotion from all his characters and writes with rich detail that won't let you put ths book down. Chld Of My Right Hand is an unforgettable modern tale of an American Family -gay son, gay father, cheating husband, bigots, hate crimes, jocks, drama, small town life, gay love, straight love - it's all mixed into this awesome book.
Buy It - Read It - it's Goodman's best novel to date!

This is the first Amazon review I've ever written but this novel moved me so much that I had to.

I loved the characters, especially Simon and Sweets, and even Genna and Jack from time to time. There are some especially memorable moments, such as: Simon's coming out to his parents who knew it all along but were waiting for him to have the courage to say it; Simon's duet with Sweets; and Simon's in-flight reverie of Sweets' "gift".

There was a point in the story where I didn't want to read any further (after the Beowulf passage, for those who know). This was NOT because the story was boring, or the writing was bad, or I couldn't relate to any of the characters, or any of the other usual reasons. It was because I felt so connected to Simon that I couldn't stand to know if anything bad was going to happen to him. I read on anyway.

I don't cry very often, and I didn't this time, either. However, when I finished reading COMRH, I did sit for a while, eyes shut, arms folded, rocking myself in my kitchen chair, waiting for my soul to calm down.

Buy this book now! Pay as much as you have to. Tell me again, why I had never heard of Eric Goodman before.

Honest is the best way to describe "Child of My Right Hand", written by my friend's father. Candid, and honest, this novel seeks to portray the complicated relationship between straight parent and gay child from all angles - mother, father, and son. But it does much more than that: it explores the complexities of our unfaithful, scatterbrained human hearts, and shows off Eric Goodman's (whom I know as "Lizzie's" Dad's) intelligent - often shocking - wit.

The only complaint - the reason why I give the novel 4 stars instead of 5 - is that some of the minor characters (the son's high school principal, Lizzie's purple-haired friend's father, and "Fry Guy's" boss) are a little plastic and unrealistic. Overall, however, its an excellent read.

A thought provoking story about the struggle between parents and teenagers. Goodman gives an extremely candid view into both the father's and the son's minds as they battle with typical teenage angst accelerated by the fact the son is gay. A bravely written work.

This is a wonderful, stunning story of a family dealing with multiple sexual pressures--the parents' infidelities as well as their teen children's budding sexuality. But the most important part of the book is the character development of the parents but particularly of Simon, their gay son.

I don't entirely agree with T.C. Boyle's description of Goodman's new novel, Child of My Right Hand, as minimalist Carveresque fiction. I consider the book to be uniquely Goodmanesque, a lolapalooza in its quick asides, its generous, though never prolix chorus of family voices blabbing and thinking in synch. The novel touches on many local Ohio issues, but it is more than a roman à clef, more than merely a story about the outing of Simon Barish. It is a family saga embracing three generations and at least six degrees of suspense, humor, and romance. The final sentence (in context) is an example of how masterly Goodman is as a novelist.