His Mother's Son

I started this novel, coincidentally, before "Virginia Tech." I don't like using a school name to identify a tragedy, but that's the easy handle. I live near "Columbine." It's a fact of life -- that's how these awful events are known. The writing is stunning. Yes, Jana is tough to live with and hang around. Her world isn't pretty -- why should it be. She's got secrets. Why wouldn't she? Cai Emmons' descriptions are so rich and captivating that credibility never sags. There are many images and ideas buried within the prose here that are stunning and original. The arc of the story is wonderful, the reconnection, the overcoming old fears. Jana faces herself, challenges herself and presses for truth and reality. You have to admire the challenge that the writer gave herself in this assignment and how faithful she was to the task.

I just finished the book and I totally loved it. I will probably read it again because it was saturated with detail - I also really miss the characters already."His Mother's Son" perfectly rounds out and portrays the balance between good and evil inside every human. Whether the "evil" is murder or childhood awakenings; it addresses the "bad" in all of us and the fear that this will somehow fly out of control if we ignore the thoughts and tendancies.However, this book not only paints the images of fear and balance, Cai Emmons does an INCREDIBLE job of painting her characters. These characters seem so real and not at all fabricated in any way. I found a little of myself inside each character in this story and found myself caring deeply about what happened next to each of them.I found myself wishing the story would go on and on and my only complaint is that it ended too abruptly for me. However; if it were up to me I suppose there would have been no end.As far as technicalities, the only distraction I had during the reading was one typo (page 17) and the repeated use of one word "sinewy". It is such an odd word, to see it at least 9 times in one book was a bit distracting to me. Then again, I may be just a little obsessive compulsive in my inability to ignore patterns. :)I remained totally engaged with this book through the entire 8 hours it took for me to complete it. Cai Emmons constantly switched back and forth between second and third person voices... and I never really noticed it until 3/4 through the book. Even then it was so well done that I was not distracted by it at all which makes me wonder if that is how I was kept engaged.I very much recommend this book and admire Cai Emmons as a writer. I sincerely appreciate the fact that I never felt manipulated as a reader, nor did I find anything in the book predictable. I anxiously await her next offering if there is one.Paula

I can describe "His Mother's Son" in three words...WOW. WOW. WOW.Jana Thomas is hiding something- dark,indescribable secrets;and by concealing these secrets, her own life begins unraveling-Out of control. She becomes an ineffective mother, wife and friend. She begins to see events in distorted, unrealistic ways, and by doing this begins to become disturbed and obsessed herself.I loved this book; The psychological character studies, how our childhood molds us and our genetics sculpt us. How we, by denying our past, become ineffectual,unavailable adults...Cai Emmon's is polished and brilliant in her precision and understanding of the human animal. Her voice is beautiful, flowing, and caused my breath to quicken and stop during most of the reading of "His Mother's Son" This book will make all of it's readers look at themselves in a new and uncomfortable way. And by doing this, discover that the past can never be lost or cast aside... Because like Jana, it will find you, consume you and rule you...Until you finally make peace with it. (A must read for 2003~!)

This book is disturbing and compelling in the very best way--despite the fact that Jana Thomas and her life, her story don't go down as smoothly as the best lemon meringue pie, it was good to the last crumb. Part medical thriller, part family saga, partly a chronicle of the complicated lives we live today, "His Mother's Son" is an impressive piece of work. Moreover, it touches the heart without making any obvious writerly attempts to do so.I'm looking forward to more from Cai Emmons.

Cai Emmons's first novel is extraordinarily accomplished. The suspense builds from the prologue on, so that you can't put the book down. In fact, I read it twice. The story portrays the profound challenges and rewards of married and family life, while at the same time luring us into an unsettling territory that we usually only read about in the news. The characters are psychologically complex and true, and the writing is lovely, nuanced, and striking throughout. I'll be thinking about Jana Thomas for a long time to come.