The Testing of Luther Albright: A Novel [Hardcover]

MacKenzie Bezos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2005

Luther Albright is a builder of dams, a man whose greatest pride (besides his family) is running his hands over the true planes of the house he built himself and knowing that he’s constructed something that will shield and shelter them from harm. A relatively minor incident -- an earthquake that shakes his Sacramento home -- reveals fault lines and cracks in the facade of his family. His teenage son’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre and threatening, his devoted wife more distant, and then a dam of Luther’s design comes under investigation for structural flaws exposed by the tremors. Nightmarish meanings begin to shout at Luther from the most innocent of places as debut novelist MacKenzie Bezos tightens her net of psychological suspense around the reader with bravura skill. In the spirit of Rosellen Brown and Alice McDermott, this is a harrowing portrait of an ordinary man who finds himself tested and strives not to be found wanting.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

MacKenzie Bezos's The Testing of Luther Albright, a debut novel that heralds the beginning of what bodes to be a substantial writing career, starts with this sentence: "The year I lost my wife and son, my son performed nine separate tests of my character." We don't know what "lost" means yet, but as the story unfolds, we learn that "lost" is certainly the most appropriate word.

The novel is rich with symbolism: Luther's cherished, hand-built home has a problem--and he can't find it. He is an engineer who builds dams and the structure of one of his dams is under review following an earthquake. At every turn, Luther is under siege, being tested. There are many places in the narrative where Luther might have done or said something that would have kept his wife Liz and his son Elliot close to him. Instead, a slow drift away from each other begins and then accelerates until a chasm is created.

The tests that Elliot inflicts on his father take many forms: a shaved head, sabotage of his father's meticulous home-plumbing, a downright lie about a job, a friendship with a man his father despises. All these tests are given in the hope of eliciting a valid response from Luther. Whether it is anger, shame, disappointment, embarrassment, chagrin--Elliot wants his repressed father to show it to him, to have a reaction, and Luther cannot or will not do it. The story is reminiscent in some ways of Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, at least in those parts where Franzen chronicles so faithfully peoples' ability to withhold from one another. What Luther withholds is emotional honesty; indeed, real feeling of any stripe.

Elliot is writing a research paper on his grandfather and, since he has never met him, must ask Luther many questions. Luther is not forthcoming, gives monosylllabic answers and never helps Elliot in any meaningful way. Bezos (wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff) uses this device to allow Luther to reminisce privately about his father, who was emotionally unavailable and manipulative. He spent many nights sitting alone in a movie theatre and then reported to his wife that he was having an affair. She says, "I forgive you," believing that unconditional love is what she must give. Of course, his father is bitterly disappointed by this response. Luther has followed him and knows that the story isn't true. Thus is internalized a way of behaving that kills all chance for real intimacy. Luther learns his lesson well.

A story about a controlling person unable to bend to the needs of his wife and son, and yet honestly loving them inordinately, might be merely a dry recitation if it weren't for the beauty of Bezos's writing and for her ability to show us how trapped Luther is by his background and nature. Bezos writes with complete control of her material. She makes the reader eager to know what's next. --Valerie Ryan

From Publishers Weekly

Luther Albright has it all: a top civil engineering position with the Sacramento department of water services; a lovely home he designed and built himself; a beautiful, loving wife; and a teenage son who shares his passion for household construction and repair. But when an earthquake rattles his house's foundation, faults in Luther's design expose deeper cracks in the life he's built with his family. Bezos's impressive, quietly powerful debut, narrated 20 years later by a reflective and regretful Luther, charts a year in stages, revolving around a series of "tests" performed on Luther by his son, Elliot. Ranging from shaving his head to reckless horseplay on the roof, Elliot's tests never stray far beyond the limits of typical teenage rebellion. But Luther, crippled by his inability to communicate with his maturing son, chooses inaction and evasion in the face of them. Bezos scrutinizes her protagonist's every thought, fear and action as he unwittingly distances himself from his beloved wife and son, uncovering a heartbreaking family dissolution steeped not in melodrama but in the irrevocable damage done when one member closes himself off from the rest. Bezos (wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff) captures the extraordinary in the ordinary, revealing a subtle imagination and a startling talent for naturalism.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (August 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006075141X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060751418
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,844,339 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars diligent but emotionally-repressed head of household reaps sorrow and loneliness, March 31, 2008

By 

Bruce J. Wasser (Lake Bluff, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Testing of Luther Albright: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

In her intriguing debut novel, "The Testing of Luther Albright," MacKenzie Bezos tackles the question of what makes a man an effective father. Her protagonist is a good man, on the surface a dutiful provider, honorable husband and competent companion to his son. Yet, Luther Albright is as brittle as a withered autumnal leaf; in his quest to never burden his family with his private emotional turmoil, he shuts himself off from them. His acts of spiritual isolation and compulsive refusal to open his heart to those he loves result in a predictable disaster. Indeed, in the very first sentence of the novel, Bezos informs us that Luther "lost" his wife and son in the span of one year, after failing "nine separate tests" of character.

The central irony of the novel is that Luther's sincere efforts to protect his family from pain result in silent suffering, deepening resignation and simmering resentment. Discouraged by the "unfathomable Rube Goldberg workings that controlled my mind and heart," Luther steadfastly refuses to share his own broken heart, the result of unresolved ambivalence over his own childhood relationship with his father. Rather than confront his own pain and share his anguish with his wife, Luther resolves to assiduously maintain his meticulously-constructed home. As a craftsman, Luther is without peer; as a husband and father, he fails terribly.

Repressed and vigilant about any show of emotion, Luther cannot find a means to share himself with his son. Whether it be home repair or instructions about shaving, Luther awkwardly flails about in trying to connect with his son. Direct, honest, authentic talk never is a possibility. Consequently, the son quietly rebels; even Elliot's gentle acts of rebellion are cries for recognition, pleas for connection. Out of fear that he may utter the wrong phrase or offer improper advice, Luther selects the worst of all avenues to approach his son: a prim and distant affection, which his son interprets as rejection and repudiation. A brash and boorish co-worker even provides a better, if rough-hewn, role model as a husband.

Bezos' style could stand some refining. She tends to slight her secondary characters, especially wife Liz and son Elliot, never permitting us the chance to understand the world from their point of view. As well, by the end of the novel, the author has thoroughly mined every conceivable angle by which we may judge Luther. A more trim, compact novel would have achieved the same end.

The sadness that suffuses "The Testing of Luther Albright" reminds us that emotional risk taking is far superior to buttoned-down, flat affect. Children need genuine parents, parents who are courageous enough to share their flaws, as well as their virtues, with their offspring.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars quietly heartbreaking, August 19, 2005

By 

Pat Sharp (atlanta, ga) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Testing of Luther Albright: A Novel (Hardcover)

this story is well-conceived and the main character is an interesting study in distancing and alienation from loved ones. the plot could have used more fuel, and the writing requires concentration without being entirely involving, but luther albright's climactic realizations are carefully orchestrated, unsettling, and sad. be prepared to be patient with the mental maneuvering of a man who is so overcontrolled that he only occasionally simmers with emotion.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intense first novel, August 19, 2005

By 

R. Jaffe (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Testing of Luther Albright: A Novel (Hardcover)

While I found The Testing of Luther Albright to be a very engaging book, it was, at the same time, extremely intense and I could barely read a chapter at a sitting. It is the story of Luther Albright who wants to avoid replicating the relationship mistakes he saw his father make, and the book is a grueling look at the lengths he will go to to try to avoid becoming a man like his father.

I found this book to be very powerful and I think it would lead to great discussions in the context of a book group.

MacKenzie Bezos writes in a very engaging style and clearly did her research for this book. I'm looking forward to reading more books from her.