Island Man

July 15, 2023
A man revisits his unconventional relationship with his father. This book begins in the wake of loss as narrator Hector Peterson points out that he and his father, Winston Telemacque, are visiting the island of Dominica almost one year after the death of Hector's mother. That's not the only grounds for concern, however: It's 2017, and Hector and Winston are on the island during devastating Hurricane Maria. As the storm worsens, Hector looks back on his life and wonders whether this will be the end. From there, Skerrett intersperses scenes of the men and their extended family in the hurricane's aftermath with scenes from both Hector's and Winston's lives, and the reader gradually learns that Hector grew up without knowing his father, only meeting him when he was in college. Hector recounts the circumstances that caused his mother to leave Dominica for Boston--and those which led to his father making his way there as well, becoming a successful businessman. Gradually, the novel reveals the scope of Hector's personal and professional alienation, including the disintegration of his marriage, which he accelerated with a series of affairs. By the time of the novel's framing scenes he has become, in his own words, "a public disgrace and a private failure"--and a man unsure if he can repair the broken parts of his life. The gulf between the idealistic young Hector, who vows that "the cycle of lies and dishonesty would stop with me," and the more jaded, alienated Hector of the present gives this novel some of its emotional weight. At times the novel's path forward and backward in time can feel overly dense, but the attention to detail and the unconventional father-son bond at the book's heart make for an affecting read. A thoughtful reckoning with two men's frustrations and contradictions.

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