A review by claudiaswisher
The Good Son by Michael Gruber

4.0

Nearly a day after finishing this book, the characters still haunt me...Theo, Sonia, Cynthia...and Wazir. Complicated, dense prose. A convoluted, twisted plot reliant on coincidences galore. But at the heart, this is about bright people making their way through the world, using all their talents and skills. Theo was my favorite character, until the last few pages...I understand the changes in his character, but I don't like them. Sonia? Wow! What a character. Polish circus performer, magician...Catholic and Muslim. Married to a Pakistani lawyer, trained as a Jungian therapist. My head spins just trying to describe her. Always working the angles, always keeping cards hidden from everyone. Cynthia -- I didn't like her self-serving brand of patriotism, but that doesn't excuse what happened to her.

And at the heart is the title. Who is the good son? How much does a son owe his mother? How long can a mother use her children?

Coincidences aside, a deep story that entertains and instructs and haunts.