A mother and son estranged for many years reckon at last with the secret that has kept them
apart in this highly anticipated novel by one of the most talented American writers of his
generation At forty Peter an asylum lawyer in New York City is overworked and isolated. He
spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment
and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case
of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness the event that he has avoided for twenty years
returns to haunt him. Ann his mother who runs a women's retreat centre she founded after
leaving his father is wounded by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has
built. She long ago banished from her mind the decision that divided her from her son. But as
Peter's case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of
violence that changed his life forever he and his mother must confront the secret that tore
them apart. With unsurpassed emotional depth Mothers and Sons reveals all that is lost by
looking away from the past and the love that might be restored by facing it. In his
spellbinding new novel Adam Haslett demonstrates yet again his mastery of "a rich assortment
of literary gifts" ( New York Times ). 'Subtle symphonic and satisfying' Financial Times
'An epic family saga that packs an extraordinary emotional punch . . . this book is his best
yet' Observer
