Fortunate Son

Mosley, Walter

ISBN 10: 1600242502 ISBN 13: 9781600242502

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 2007

Synopsis

Tommy's nickname is Lucky, but no one would think this crippled boy was blessed. Cursed with health problems and drawn into trouble more often than not, Tommy is the recipient of pity rather than admiration. He is nothing like his stepbrother Eric.
Eric, a Nordic Adonis, is graced by a seemingly endless supply of good fortune-he is charming, a star athlete, and a magnet for anyone in his sphere. Yet in spite of these differences, Eric and Tommy are as close as two humans can be.
After tragedy rips their makeshift family apart, the lives of these boys split. In a powerful story of modern-day resilience and redemption, Tommy and Eric forge their separate ways in the world, each confronting the challenges of his sphere. For Tommy this means dropping out of school, selling drugs, living on the streets, and somehow creating a family of his own. Motherless, African-American, and impoverished, Tommy has nothing but feels lucky every day of his life. For Eric, the golden youth, life means athletics, sexual attraction, excellent grades, prosperity, and the uncertainty that comes with prizes won too easily. Given everything, he trusts nothing.
Eric and Tommy's parallel lives are an astonishing story of self-determination and the true measure of fortune. The ties that bind this Adonis and his sickly counterpart, however, are thicker than blood, and when circumstances reunite Eric and Tommy after years apart, their distinct approaches to life may be the only thing that can save them from forces that threaten to destroy them for good.
Written with unique insight into the hidden currents and deeper realities of modern life, Fortunate Son is a tour de force by the author the Boston Globe calls "one of this nation's finest writers."

About this title

About the Author:

Walter Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries and numerous other works of fiction and nonfiction. He lives in New York.

From AudioFile:

Welcome one more of Mosley's departures from mystery fiction. FORTUNATE SON is a compassionate, lyrical, and heartbreaking story of the parallel lives of two "brothers." Lorraine Toussaint brilliantly follows the two boys: Tommy, unhealthy and plagued by the harshest of life's realities, and golden boy Eric, a privileged doctor's son. The melodrama is occasionally inflated, edging to improbable, and could be over the top in the hands of a less gifted narrator. Toussaint's thoughtful yet precise handling of the characters and relationships deeply touches the listener. She never misses the opportunity to color an unusual character, making the most of Mosley's people. The boys' lives are interwoven with tragedy and loyalty, and Toussaint is a sensitive and intuitive narrator delivering a velvety punch. R.F.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1600242502
• ISBN 13: 9781600242502
• Binding: Audio CD