Overview

Exploring three generations of the men in his family -- his father and his two uncles, his own two brothers, and his two sons -- Bret Lott spins a sweeping true saga of the ties that bind. With quiet grace and his trademark talent for finding powerful revelations in the most unlikely places, master novelist Lott delivers a bracingly personal and honest memoir that confronts the often inexpressible complexities of contemporary maleness. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers describes not only the ways men and boys relate to one another but also how their lives evolve over decades, endlessly imitative yet varied. In the end, these essays constitute a celebration of humanity, regardless of gender -- of joy and sorrow, of intimacy and distance, of lingering secrets and universal truths.

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9780671041762

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Reviews

Washington Post Book World In fifteen affecting pieces...Bret Lott tells of loss and growing up and the tensions that echo from one generation to the next....Lott achieves poignancy by holding fluid relationships steady for a moment and seeing them in the context of all families. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Charles Sermon The State (Columbia, SC) A book of small epiphanies, full of love and tenderness, curiosity and disappointment, innocence and guilt, questions and answers. The New York Times Book Review Captures the rough-and-tumble of men growing up, through his honesty, lyricism and eye for the telling detail. Some powerful moments in these essays are also the most emotionally charged, as Lott tries to make sense of an uncontrollable world. Robert Olen Butler author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain What an astonishing book. Bret Lott understands why photographs fade faster than memories, why lost innocence is sweeter than innocence itself, and why every man needs his own garage. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a brilliant evocation of that weight that is no weight, love. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Lott writes about the men in his family with a rare mix of objectivity and loving regard. The New York Times Book Review Lott observes and beautifully renders those small moments that can change a life. Elinor Lipman author of The Ladies' Man When Bret Lott wears his heart on his sleeve, it is a wonderful sight to behold....Tender, funny, bittersweet, and satisfying, Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a treasure map to what most men keep buried -- or at least a visa to those shores. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution I suspect that what Lott has written is paradigmatic, a parable of the changes in the way fathers, who are always caught between generations, understand their roles. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel In turn son, grandson, brother, husband, uncle, nephew, and father, Lott uses his vivid, elegant prose to shine the twin bright lights of truth and love on the evolving relationships among male family members. Elinor Lipman author of The Ladies' Man When Bret Lott wears his heart on his sleeve, it is a wonderful sight to behold....Tender, funny, bittersweet, and satisfying, Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a treasure map to what most men keep buried -- or at least a visa to those shores. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel In turn son, grandson, brother, husband, uncle, nephew, and father, Lott uses his vivid, elegant prose to shine the twin bright lights of truth and love on the evolving relationships among male family members. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution I suspect that what Lott has written is paradigmatic, a parable of the changes in the way fathers, who are always caught between generations, understand their roles. Charles Sermon The State (Columbia, SC) A book of small epiphanies, full of love and tenderness, curiosity and disappointment, innocence and guilt, questions and answers. The New York Times Book Review Captures the rough-and-tumble of men growing up, through his honesty, lyricism and eye for the telling detail. Some powerful moments in these essays are also the most emotionally charged, as Lott tries to make sense of an uncontrollable world. Robert Olen Butler author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain What an astonishing book. Bret Lott understands why photographs fade faster than memories, why lost innocence is sweeter than innocence itself, and why every man needs his own garage. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a brilliant evocation of that weight that is no weight, love. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Lott writes about the men in his family with a rare mix of objectivity and loving regard. Washington Post Book World In fifteen affecting pieces...Bret Lott tells of loss and growing up and the tensions that echo from one generation to the next....Lott achieves poignancy by holding fluid relationships steady for a moment and seeing them in the context of all families. Andrea Barrett National Book Award-winning author of Ship Fever Moving, gentle, and full of heart, this wise memoir begins by illuminating Bret Lott's family but sheds its light on all of us in the end. The New York Times Book Review Lott observes and beautifully renders those small moments that can change a life. Robert Olen Butlerauthor of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain What an astonishing book. Bret Lott understands why photographs fade faster than memories, why lost innocence is sweeter than innocence itself, and why every man needs his own garage. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a brilliant evocation of that weight that is no weight, love. Elinor Lipmanauthor of The Ladies' Man When Bret Lott wears his heart on his sleeve, it is a wonderful sight to behold....Tender, funny, bittersweet, and satisfying, Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a treasure map to what most men keep buried -- or at least a visa to those shores. Washington Post Book World In fifteen affecting pieces...Bret Lott tells of loss and growing up and the tensions that echo from one generation to the next....Lott achieves poignancy by holding fluid relationships steady for a moment and seeing them in the context of all families. The New York Times Book Review Captures the rough-and-tumble of men growing up, through his honesty, lyricism and eye for the telling detail. Some powerful moments in these essays are also the most emotionally charged, as Lott tries to make sense of an uncontrollable world. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel In turn son, grandson, brother, husband, uncle, nephew, and father, Lott uses his vivid, elegant prose to shine the twin bright lights of truth and love on the evolving relationships among male family members. Andrea BarrettNational Book Award-winning author of Ship Fever Moving, gentle, and full of heart, this wise memoir begins by illuminating Bret Lott's family but sheds its light on all of us in the end. Charles Sermon The State (Columbia, SC)A book of small epiphanies, full of love and tenderness, curiosity and disappointment, innocence and guilt, questions and answers. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Lott writes about the men in his family with a rare mix of objectivity and loving regard. The New York Times Book Review Lott observes and beautifully renders those small moments that can change a life.

Elinor Lipman author of The Ladies' Man When Bret Lott wears his heart on his sleeve, it is a wonderful sight to behold....Tender, funny, bittersweet, and satisfying, Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a treasure map to what most men keep buried -- or at least a visa to those shores.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel In turn son, grandson, brother, husband, uncle, nephew, and father, Lott uses his vivid, elegant prose to shine the twin bright lights of truth and love on the evolving relationships among male family members.

Robert Olen Butler<p>author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain <p>What an astonishing book. Bret Lott understands why photographs fade faster than memories, why lost innocence is sweeter than innocence itself, and why every man needs his own garage. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers is a brilliant evocation of that weight that is no weight, love.<p>

Author Information

Bret Lott is a native of Los Angeles. Jewel, his internationally celebrated novel of love and loss in 1940s Mississippi, was a national bestseller and a popular Oprah's Book Club(TM) selection. The author of four other highly acclaimed novels -- The Man Who Owned Vermont, A Stranger's House, Reed's Beach, and The Hunt Club -- Lott has also written two collections of widely anthologized short stories, A Dream of Old Leaves and How to Get Home. He lives with his wife and two sons near Charleston, South Carolina, and teaches writing at the College of Charleston and Vermont College.

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