Mothers and Sons

Haslett’s irresistable latest (after Imagine Me Gone) revolves around the mystery of a man’s teenage trauma. Peter, a 40-year-old immigration lawyer, works on asylum seekers’ cases in New York City. In interlocking threads, Haslett delves into Peter’s work on the case of a gay Albanian immigrant and his upbringing with his mother Ann, an Episcopal priest. In the latter timeline, Peter gradually discovers his own sexuality with his stunning and mysterious friend Jared. A third story line follows Ann as she divorces Peter’s father for a woman named Clare, with whom she goes on to found a women’s retreat, Viriditas. Ann and Clare’s relationship struggles as Ann develops feelings for another woman at the retreat. Gradually, the reason for the rift between Peter and Ann—a harrowing event that happened over the course of one fateful evening during his youth—is revealed, leading to a climactic present-day confrontation between mother and son at Viriditas. Themes of guilt, new beginnings, survival, and violence permeate the excellent and subtle story of characters grappling with events beyond their control, and the author, himself an immigration lawyer, delivers a deeply personal portrait of Peter’s tenacious advocacy for his clients. This matches the heights of Haslett’s best work. Agent: Amanda Urban, CAA. (Jan.)