The Lies That Bind: A Novel [Hardcover]

Edward DeAngelo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001

Edward DeAngelo's debut novel The Lies That Bind is a gripping, resonant work, emotional and true, that weighs the complex question: What defines fatherhood-blood, legal obligation, or love? This exquisite novel about the complicated ties and ambiguities that irrevocably bind us to one another introduces an extraordinary new talent in contemporary fiction.

Business executive Peter Morrison and his ex-wife, Joan, an artist, were never right for each other-Pete dreamed of a comfortable family life in the suburbs while Joan envisioned a more bohemian existence. Nonetheless, when their marriage failed after eight years, Pete was devastated. He couldn't imagine not sharing his home and day-to-day life with his young son, Sam-knowing court-sanctioned visits would never be consolation for his loneliness and pain.

Five years later Pete-who's never remarried still lives for his visits with thirteen-year-old Sam. But over the years Pete has been plagued by nagging doubts about their connection, as they've never shared physical similiarities or common interests. Though his devotion to Sam is steadfast, Pete can't stop asking himself whether the boy he loves so much is really his. So, when an opportunity arises to take a paternity test, he seizes the opportunity-and discovers that his worst fears are true.

Overcome with feelings of anger and betrayal, Pete confronts Joan with the test result. She strikes back, cutting off his visitation rights *in order to keep Sam from finding out the truth. Suddenly Pete finds himself without a son-and without a father's legal right to get the boy back. Desperate for a solution and spurred on by an ambitious lawyer, Pete brings a lawsuit that breaks new legal ground 'in defining what a father is. Overnight the private war over Sam's custody becomes front-page news-and the very public trial forces Pete and Joan to face the truth about their marriage and the lies that bind them both to Sam. But before a judge decides, Pete and Sam must answer that same question themselves-and discover the truths that determine the meaning of family.

An honest and profound novel written with great skill and compassion, The Lies That Bind is a journey of the heart that no reader will soon forget.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What does it mean to be a father? That's the question DeAngelo thoughtfully and exhaustively addresses in this serious-minded legal drama. Peter Morrison, a successful, middle-aged, self-made Boston computer company executive, has been divorced from his wife, Joan, for eight years when nagging suspicions about the paternity of their 13-year-old son, Sam, induce him to submit to a blood test. Pete has always been the perfect father, affectionate and generous, and even after he discovers that Sam is not, in fact, his son, he plans to continue to fill a fatherly role. But a confrontation with Joan makes it clear that nothing can ever be the same again. Cutting off child support after Joan denies his visitation rights and issues a restraining order, Pete lies by omission, conveniently forgetting to tell his lawyer about the blood test, which, of course, is soon revealed, upsetting everyone involved, especially Sam, who begins cutting school and shoplifting. When Pete decides to sue Joan, trial in family court is an acrimonious, explosive affair. First-timer DeAngelo, a family lawyer out of the Massachusetts attorney general's office, creates believable characters; Sam's conversations with his father are authentically pitched and moving. Yet the novel belabors its themes, weighting endless talk over scene setting. Still, DeAngelo delves intelligently into legal and emotional issues. (Jan.) Forecast: The publisher likens this novel to Kramer vs. Kramer. The comparison is apt, and film rights have already been optioned by Sony-Tristar. Given the current interest in DNA technology and the perennial issue of child-custody in a divorce-prone society, this book may enjoy substantial sales, boosted by author appearances in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. BOMC alternate; audio rights to Brilliance.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Eight years after divorce, settled into a weekend father routine with his son, Sam, Pete Morrison lets his nagging suspicions compel him to have his blood and Sam's blood tested for paternity. The test excludes Pete as Sam's father and sets in motion a bitter legal battle between Pete and his ex-wife Joan and questions about Pete's devotion to Sam. Thirteen-year-old Sam becomes the pawn in a struggle of betrayal and revenge between the recalcitrant adults in his life. When Joan concedes the obvious, she denies Pete visitation rights, and he strikes back with a groundbreaking lawsuit testing the definition of fatherhood and a man's rights and obligations as a father. DeAngelo captures both courtroom drama and the strain and awkwardness of parenting. In funny and touching scenes, Pete recalls eight years of weekend visits with Sam as the two attend his mother's wake, visit his childhood home, and hang out together doing nothing. This is a compelling first novel that examines issues of marriage and parenthood, reminiscent of Kramer v. Kramer. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688174930
• ISBN-13: 978-0688174934
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,496,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lies That Bind, January 29, 2001

By 

Eleanor Brimley (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lies That Bind: A Novel (Hardcover)

Edward DeAngelo presents his characters brilliantly. I could not put this book down. DeAngelo allowed me to really know these people, complete with their emotions and physical appearance. I felt as if I passed them on the street they would be easily recognizable from how he had painted them for me. In one word "spellbinding", a must read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling!, January 25, 2001

By 

Gaila Merrington (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lies That Bind: A Novel (Hardcover)

By page 2, Edward De Angelo's novel had me in its grip. The Lies that Bind is a book that I didn't want to put down. The story of Sam and Pete ensnares you with threads so light you don't realise you are bound.

The human genome, itself, has reached celebrity status and we have to decide what constitutes family, DNA or connection? Edward De Angelo's compassion and empathy with his characters, celebrates the relationships we all need to thrive.

Even though the title is "The Lies That Bind" , the book evokes "The Ties that Bind" and celebrates that thought. Enjoy!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Than Blood, March 15, 2001

By 

J. J. Brannon "JJ Brannon" (Newark, DE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lies That Bind: A Novel (Hardcover)

For the last decade, in the interests of Family Law Reform, I've advised men and women regarding technicals aspects of paternity testing. In 1994 I helped to revise the Delaware paternity testing statutes to include DNA analysis.

In the course of this work, I've met the like of Pete Morrison -- Edward Deangelo's engaging protagonist -- on many occasions. Here is the first realistic portrait in contemporary literature of one of the men who are fathers from conscious acts of will and innate affection.

These are the step-fathers, foster-fathers, and cuckolded husbands who struggle against the societal notion that biology is ironclad destiny.

The law, sociology, psychology, and social barriers depicted in this first novel are despairingly accurate, as I can attest. The issues and arguments are discomfertingly real.

Yet what stands out beyond the strong thematic structure is the people Deangelo makes flesh: a confused but well-intentioned man lost in a world of changing rules, a boy cut adrift from the anchors of his identity, and the woman, who in lesser hands could have been a caricature of venality, who remains a sympathetic figure torn between conflicting loyalties.

Travel with Pete Morrison on the winding road toward the boy he would have as his son. You won't be disappointed.