In The Wake of the Boatman by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
ISBN 978-1890862-42-8
Fiction, 305 pages
Bancroft Press
FTC Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher
In the wake of the boatman. The boatman being a father, husband, role model. Or is he? His son isn’t so sure.
Neither is the father:
Over and over, his mind fastened on the fact that he had no idea how to give his son a hug. It seemed a completely different act from hugging his wife or daughter…Suddenly, he felt old, warn, and permanently immovable.
There is a lot of angst in this book. Much of it related to relationships both personal and familial as well as toward gender and identity.
Pretty powerful stuff. Let me tell you, this is not a light read.
But I enjoyed it. Even though I struggled a bit to understand the depth of the father-son relationship, which is what this story is primarily about.
Not to get too personal, but it’s a dynamic I am just now discovering through my marriage. I had never seen one in action, and it still remains somewhat of a mystery.
Carl and his son Puttnam (the protagonist) are not characters that endeared themselves to me. There were a few times that I really disliked both, intensely.
I believe this is because the characters dislike themselves a great deal, and this shines through and glares upon their fatal flaws. Imperfection is put on display in a harshness that is only tempered by the relationships each man has with the women in the family.
The roles of women in this book are subtle, but important. Like the men, they are flawed. However they are the strength and the glue that keeps the family together and moving forward toward a resolution.
The author doesn’t end the novel in a way that redeems Putt or his father. Not completely. This is not a bad thing. He does leave the reader with hope that Putt will become a likeable person, not only to us, but more importantly, to himself.
As I said, this isn’t a light read, but by no means is it a challenging one. Just like Goldilocks, I’m gonna say it’s juuust right.
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time now. J.C., this is such a great review. It helps me to understand the book more now than other reviews I read.
I struggled with this a bit, but then I remembered why I do what I do (blog about books).
This is as much a reading journal as anything else.
For me, what I share are my perceptions and how the book impacted me as a reader. What I see in each novel is always going to be unique – at least I hope so.
It is comments like yours that let me know that I remain on track with my goals. Thank you!