The Beloved Son

Once again Quinn captures gay, and gay-straight family dynamics; at times sad and true and at times very funny. Perhaps the ending is predictable, but for readers who want much more then another coming-out, or vampire read; this plucks many heart strings !

"The Beloved Son" was one of the best beach book of the summer. Others have already discussed the story in detail. Let me use the space to explain why I liked "The Beloved Son" far more than Quinn's last two books ("The Good Neighbor" and "Back Where He Started"). I thought the two other books had unrealistic happy endings and at least two gay characters whose belief in organized religion reflected the author's opinion rather thn the chracter's. "The Beloved Son" has a happy ending of sorts, but life is not going to be easy for any of the characters in the coming years and Quinn fully acknowleges that fact. "The Beloved Son" also has a character who is Catholic in a way that few other gay men are Catholic anymore. This time the character (Swen) fully explains why he choses to remain in a church that would seem not to want him. Enough. This is a very good book. Buy it!

Jay Quinn is one of the finest gay authors of this decade.It is hard to refer to him as a gay writer because his work is not just gay it is human-do not hesitate to get this book Quinn gets to the heart of your heart!!

At 52, Karl Preston is a successful family man, living with his career-minded wife and adult daughter in an affluent town home community in North Carolina. When he gets an urgent call from his father for all of them to come down to his parents' home in Florida, his momentary displeasure with the interruption in his busy life is overshadowed by a concern that something is wrong. He wonders if it is a health problem for one of his parents, or perhaps regarding his decade younger brother Sven, who lives near his parents with his life partner of 26 years, Rob. Karl and Sven had not been in touch much, since Karl went away to college in North Carolina when Sven was still a little boy. Most of this was because Karl was simply a busy man, but also due to an emotional distance that developed when Sven had first come out as gay when he was a teenager. His old-school, conservative father, Frank, did not accept his younger son's sexuality as a given, and blamed it on the coddling of his mother, Annike. But Karl's daughter, Melanie, had grown close to her uncles Sven and Rob, visiting them many times, and wasn't aware of any problem with them. When they get down to Florida, they learn that their summoning was to be told that Frank and Annike were "downsizing" their lives, moving to a nearby retirement community, and wanted to offer Sven, Karl and his family any mementos from their home before most of it goes to charity. They also learn that the main reason for the change is that Annike is gradually losing her grasp on reality due to senior dementia, and it is likely that, within a year or less, she may need ongoing custodial care, which can be provided at a different wing of the retirement community. Up to now, Sven has been the primary caregiver when his mother had her increasingly-frequent bouts of forgetfulness and childlike regressions and, although thankful for his help, Frank also was somewhat jealous of the intimacy they shared, and channeled his anger at the situation unfairly by picking on Sven. The time constraints in dealing with his mother also have affected Sven's relationship with his lover, who is taking some time apart to reassess their priorities. Karl goes through a myriad of emotions in his few days in Florida, first feeling like an outsider among his own family. He witnesses one of his mother's regressive episodes, during which Sven has to treat her like a little girl in order to get her cleaned up and take her medication, and is incredulous that Frank mercilessly picks on Sven for doing what he could not do himself. Speaking with Rob, Karl also realizes that Sven's devotion to his mother's needs is the main force causing problems in their relationship, and he encourages them to spend some time alone while his family steps in to help his parents. Karl is also dealing with a minor medical problem that makes him wonder about his own future health, and reacquaints himself with his Catholic upbringing when his mother insists

Quinn, Jay. "The Beloved Son", Alyson, 2007. Coping Amos Lassen and Literary Pride Jay Quinn can really tell a story. He did so beautifully in "The Good Neighbor" and in "Back Where He Started" and he does so again in "The Beloved Son". Quinn basically writes about those in the gay population who are under-represented--those who are not out in your face but choose to live quiet lives as part of mainstream society. He writes about that generation in which children who have grown up are caring both for parents who are aging and children who are almost adult themselves. He captures those moments of contemporary life that are intimate and in "The Beloved Son", he shows us the ability of a family to cope with the changes of life that are both delicate and major. Karl Preston, at age 52, lives the ideal America life with his wife and 24 year old daughter. He has cash and a beautiful home and everything seems to be just fine until his father asks him and his family to come to Florida for a visit. The visit brings about a series of events that are highly emotional and fro which Karl is in no way prepared. Karl's parents, Frank and Annike, announce during the visit that they have decided to move into a retirement community and it is their desire to divide their possessions among their children and grandchild. Karl realizes that this situation will bring him face to face with his gay brother, Sven, from who he has been estranged. Sven has been the primary care giver of the parents and as been forced to deal with all of the daily problems, especially with the mother's dementia which has been getting much worse. Karl now realizes, also, that the time has come to say goodbye to the mother he has known and loved. He must also lay the foundations for a deeper and more meaningful relationship with the family that he has left. He discovers that what was meant to be nothing more than a visit home has turned into a journey--one that is life-affirming and heart-rending and that he must deal with those that he had moved to the sidelines of his life. Karl's brother Sven, a forty-year-old gay male has lived his life bound by the needs of his parents in a situation that has overtaken his life. Now with the chance of being free from those constraints, an entire world is awaiting his re-entry. We get a clear picture of what happens when responsibility is weightier than love and when obligation has turned to guilt. The walls are torn down and truth emerges unbridled. The book is a tortured look at a modern day family and it is love that brings them together. This is the book to read this summer.