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Philipp Meyer

The Son Kindle Edition

by Philipp Meyer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Soon to be a TV Series on AMC starring Pierce Brosnan and co-written by Philipp Meyer.

Now in paperback, the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling epic, a saga of land, blood, and power that follows the rise of one unforgettable Texas family from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the oil booms of the 20th century.

Part epic of Texas, part classic coming-of-age story, part unflinching examination of the bloody price of power, The Son is a gripping and utterly transporting novel that maps the legacy of violence in the American west with rare emotional acuity, even as it presents an intimate portrait of one family across two centuries.

Eli McCullough is just twelve-years-old when a marauding band of Comanche storm his Texas homestead and brutally murder his mother and sister, taking him as a captive. Despite their torture and cruelty, Eli--against all odds--adapts to life with the Comanche, learning their ways, their language, taking on a new name, finding a place as the adopted son of the chief of the band, and fighting their wars against not only other Indians, but white men, too-complicating his sense of loyalty, his promised vengeance, and his very understanding of self. But when disease, starvation, and westward expansion finally decimate the Comanche, Eli is left alone in a world in which he belongs nowhere, neither white nor Indian, civilized or fully wild.

Deftly interweaving Eli’s story with those of his son, Peter, and his great-granddaughter, JA, The Son deftly explores the legacy of Eli’s ruthlessness, his drive to power, and his life-long status as an outsider, even as the McCullough family rises to become one of the richest in Texas, a ranching-and-oil dynasty of unsurpassed wealth and privilege.

Harrowing, panoramic, and deeply evocative, The Son is a fully realized masterwork in the greatest tradition of the American canon-an unforgettable novel that combines the narrative prowess of Larry McMurtry with the knife edge sharpness of Cormac McCarthy.

Length: 580 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

`The Son is an epic, heroic, hallucinatory work of art' -- Chris Cleave 'Meyer is an impressive and multi-talented storyteller in the old, good sense - the kind that makes me hang on for whatever the next chapter will hold' -- Richard Ford 'Brilliant ... a wonderful novel' -- Lionel Shriver 'Its viscerality and boundless capacity for storytelling puts it on a par with the classic of the genre, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian' * Sunday Telegraph * 'The Son makes a viable claim to be a Great American Novel... an extraordinary orchestration of American history' * Washington Post * 'Only in the greatest of historical novels do we come to feel both the distance of the past and our own likely complicity in the sins of a former age, had we been a part of it. To that rank, we now add The Son' * New York Times * 'Magnificent ... McCarthy's Border Trilogy is a point of reference, as is There Will Be Blood, but it is not fanciful to be reminded of certain passages from Moby-Dick - it's that good' * The Times * 'Stunning ... a book that for once really does deserve to be called a masterpiece' -- Kate Atkinson --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Philipp Meyer grew up in Baltimore, dropped out of high school and attended Cornell, where he studied English. Since graduating, Meyer has worked as a derivatives trader and a construction worker. His writing has been published in McSweeney's, The Iowa Review, Salon, and New Stories from the South. From 2005-2008 Meyer was a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. He lives near Ithaca in New York State. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Inside Meyer’s massive Texas saga is perhaps the best Indian captive story ever written: in 1849, 13-year-old Eli McCullough is abducted by Comanches after they’ve raped his mother and sister. Eli adapts. He learns the language and how to hunt and raid, and by age 16, he’s a fierce warrior. In the process, the reader is treated to a fascinating portrait of the Comanches, including a Melville-like cataloging of all they did with the buffalo. Eventually, young Eli returns to the white world, but after an affair with a judge’s wife worthy of Little Big Man, he’s forced into the Texas Rangers. Later still, he fights for the South and steals a fortune from the North. He returns to South Texas to found an unimaginably large ranch, which he adds to by trumping up a massacre of a distinguished Mexican family, the Garcias. No scion measures up to Eli, unless it’s Jeanne, his great-granddaughter, who ruthlessly presides over her oil and gas well into the twenty-first century. And, in a different way, Peter, Eli’s son, as softhearted as his father was ruthless, makes his mark. He alone laments the massacre of the Garcias, but he’s an indifferent rancher, and his love affair with the only surviving Garcia threatens to disembowel the McCullough empire. If you want to build a place like Texas, Meyer seems to say, only ruthlessness will suffice. In his many pages, Meyer takes time to be critical of Edna Ferber, but his tale is best compared to Giant. Lonesome Dove also come to mind, as well as the novels of Douglas C. Jones, Alan LeMay, and Benjamin Capps. --John Mort --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Part epic of Texas, part classic coming-of-age story, part unflinching portrait of the bloody price of power, The Son is an utterly transporting novel that maps the legacy of violence in the American West through the lives of the McCulloughs, an ambitious family as resilient and dangerous as the land they claim.

Spring, 1849. Eli McCullough is thirteen years old when a marauding band of Comanches takes him captive. Brave and clever, Eli quickly adapts to life among the Comanches, learning their ways and waging war against their enemies, including white men—which complicates his sense of loyalty and understanding of who he is. But when disease, starvation, and overwhelming numbers of armed Americans decimate the tribe, Eli finds himself alone. Neither white nor Indian, civilized nor fully wild, he must carve a place for himself in a world in which he does not fully belong—a journey of adventure, tragedy, hardship, grit, and luck that reverberates in the lives of his progeny.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2013: In 1859, Eli McCullough, the 13-year-old son of Texas pioneers, is captured in a brutal Comanche raid on his family's homestead. First taken as a slave along with his less intrepid brother, Eli assimilates himself into Comanche culture, learning their arts of riding, hunting, and total warfare. When the tribe succumbs to waves of disease and settlers, Eli's only option is a return to Texas, where his acquired thirsts for freedom and self-determination set a course for his family's inexorable rise through the industries of cattle and oil. The Son is Philipp Meyer's epic tale of more than 150 years of money, family, and power, told through the memories of three unforgettable narrators: Eli, now 100 and known simply as "the Colonel"; Eli's son Peter, called "the great disappointment" for his failure to meet the family’s vision of itself; and Eli's great-granddaughter Jeanne Anne, who struggles to maintain the McCullough empire in the economic frontier of modern Texas. The book is long but never dull—Meyer's gift (and obsession) for historical detail and vernacular is revelatory, and the distinct voices of his fully fleshed-and-blooded characters drive the story. And let there be blood: some readers will flinch at Meyer's blunt (and often mesmerizing) portrayal of violence in mid-19th century Texas, but it’s never gratuitous. His first novel, 2009's American Rust, drew praise for its stark and original characterization of post-industrial America, but Meyer has outdone himself with The Son, as ambitious a book as any you’ll read this year--or any year. Early reviewers call it a masterpiece, and while it's easy to dismiss so many raves as hyperbole, The Son is an extraordinary achievement. --Jon Foro --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

A Globe & Mail 100 Selection

Eli McCullough is thirteen years old when a marauding band of Comanche storm his homestead and take him captive. Brave and clever, Eli quickly adapts to Comanche life, carving a place as the chief's adopted son, and waging war against their enemies, including white men. But when disease, starvation, and overwhelming numbers of armed Americans decimate the tribe, Eli finds himself alone. Neither white nor Indian, civilized or fully wild, he must carve a place for himself in a world in which he does not fully belong--a journey of adventure, tragedy, hardship, grit, and luck that reverberates in the lives of his progeny.

--New York Times Book Review --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Publication Date : May 28, 2013
File Size : 1176 KB
Word Wise : Enabled
Print Length : 580 pages
ASIN : B009NF6YLM
Publisher : Ecco; 1st Edition (May 28, 2013)
Language: : English
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #115,436 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #250 in Add Narration for $3.99 or Less
- #564 in Education & Reference (Kindle Store)
- #664 in Literary Sagas

Customer Reviews:
2,810 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		51%
4 star		23%
3 star		15%
2 star		6%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Chicago Mermaid

The Son , is Fantastic!

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

I have watched the 2nd installment of the TV show The Son. I think the show is great and as I watched the credits, I saw it was based on a book. So, I bought it last night for my Kindle Paper White. Wow! I have been reading almost all night and most of today! This is a fascinating book. The TV show showed the savagery of the killing of his family and kid napping. It was nothing compared to the book! I always read reviews. I saw a few that were "confused" that there are different people ,with their own chapters, that tell the reader 1st hand their thoughts. All you have to do is read the name and the time period at the head of each chapter! Also, someone stated that people in the Old West would never swear like what is in the book. Read some of Shakespeare's plays. He swore like a drunken sailor! I'm pretty sure people have cussed since the Beginning of time. I am planning on reading it tonight till I collapse. If you like Westerns, Indian Tales, Texas, and stories about families that will fascinate you, buy this book! This will be a book I read more then once....I bet most will agree with me.

98 people found this helpful

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S. G. Weeks

for those who are reading this after seeing the new show based on it..

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

Okay, I admit it, first off; I do love reading Westerns. When I saw AMC had created the show I wanted to know more about the book. So I bought the book. I read about one book a week so I can judge whether or not a book is an easy read. First what made this book and easy read for me was knowing how the show had been produced. With switching back and forth between time periods. So...the book was the same format, so no mystery there. Telling the story from the different character standpoints, I liked. and because I already knew of the time switching it wasn't confusing. HOWEVER, I do understand where the criticism comes from on the previous reviews, that if you did not know how the show was produced with the time period flash backs, reading the book would be a challenge, so actually that mystery was not part of the read.

As far as content and likability of the characters and stories; I like gritty westerns, not bonanza family entertainment westerns, I like knowing that life was hard, tough and unpleasant in order to make the story come alive. I read till the end and realized that the story ended up going full circle in the end and you became aware of why and how the main character turned out like he did.

My suggestion is if you want to read this book, understand it goes back and forth between time periods so it builds the case and builds your understanding why the characters are who they are and how they became what they are.... AND
***SPOILER***
that's about it.....you will either enjoy or like the characters or dislike some of them, which is the point of a good read. Also if you are reading this after you started the AMC show, understand liberties were taken and generations of the characters have been changed, i.e. the Granddaughter in the Show is actually the Great Grand Daughter in the book and the Garcia ranch is destroyed and they are all killed in the beginning..in the show, nope, they are pretty much made out to be just neighbors with periodic conflicts. I know that this leaves room in the show for multiple seasons so the story doesn't just wrap up in one season. So there ya go!

49 people found this helpful

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ClayEE

Read This Novel

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

As a writer, I value narrative above all else. The dialogue still needs to be believable, as well as apt for the situation, but the overall narrative drives the story and can carry mediocre narrative along with it. In The Son, though, not only is the narrative as strong as I would love to have written myself, but so is the dialogue and character creation. In fact, since there are three distinct voices in this story spanning three generations of a Texas family, one a woman and two men, to have fleshed out all three characters this completely is the reason why this story has garnered so many awards.

True, I might be prejudiced since this story takes place in the general geography of where I grew up and live now--South Texas and the Hill Country--and my family has been here almost as long as these characters were. But, if your family story is from New York, or the Netherlands or Nepal, well, that won't matter once you've found yourself wiping dust from your boots after a few chapters.

17 people found this helpful

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tillzen

Where the Texas of Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy Collides Brilliantly

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2016

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Every so often, you start a book and immediately regret that it is going to end. I had not felt this enraptured by fiction since "The Prince of Tides" and as I read Philipp Meyer's "The Son", I kept thinking how truly grateful I was to have lived long enough to read such an exceptionally crafted work. Part family saga and part American history The Son briefly described in shorthand as "Lonesome Dove" (or any great Larry McMurtry yarn) as if co-written by Cormac McCarthy. It is simply a huge story suffused with such depth of language and human condition as to render the work consistantly startling. A truly great book.

19 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Chris Hilton

Near Perfect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

I read this in 2014. It's one of the few books I've really enjoyed (along with A Brief History of Seven Killings and Swing Time). I'm a fussy experienced reader and I feel there is so much hype about now. I've bought many books on the strength of rave reviews - and regretted it. Some have been really terrible. Some books have been OK but they haven't filled me with admiration. But this was of a high quality, really well-written, shocking in places and worth ten other books in recent bestseller lists. I was slightly disappointed with a weakish ending but it didn't detract from the pleasure gained in reading the rest. What is the author doing now? I've been looking out for something new from him. Does anybody know?

11 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Superb but flawed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

It's not Lonesome Dove, but it is an epic story of Texan history. Great story telling which at times, I found " unputdownable" , fortunately it was part of my holiday reading, so I devoured it in large lumps.
The action was quite brutal at times but always readable and never gratuitous. The flaw was that in telling the history from the viewpoint of 3 protagonists, the story suffered from one characters part being so much more interesting than the other two and at times my interest flagged when the story teller changed.
But all in all, a very good read.

3 people found this helpful

Dave

Much Better Than the TV Series.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

Great book. I watched the hopeless TV series but became intrigued. Yes, the scriptwriters have, once again, sanitised the original script into a more readily digestible TV format. Changed everything around and altered the key events, also redefined many of the characters, etc. If I was the author Philip Meyer I would be very angry. However, the book is far more entertaining and makes much more sense. Especially the story involving the life of young McCullough growing up with the Comanche Indians'.

4 people found this helpful

Michael McKenna

Accurate enjoyable history of a disappearing frontier.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

I love a book heavy on accurate historical details which is also a page turner. This is such a book!
I deleted one star because I regularly felt a bit lost about where or what the surviving matriarch was saying.
Also, the use of modern idiom, or coarse language, by indians, while I understand the rationale, took away from an otherwise elegiac tale.
And while it was indeed a page turner, a lot of the principal characters were a serious bunch of misery-guts!

steam_simon

Chronologically Challenging

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2017

Verified Purchase

A frustrating book in many ways as the novel is told through a series of characters moving back and forth in time - which I found ultimately unsatisfying. I think the story would have been better as a chronological sequence - even if the denouement (which was certainly not "closure") had been revealed at the start. Extremely violent, and a very enlightening description of the culture and behaviours of Native Indians. None of the cultures (American, Mexican, Native Indian) is spared and human behaviour at its very worst described in graphic detail. A good book but I think it could have been great (I'm thinking of Lonesome Dove).

2 people found this helpful