Second Son

by Stephen Stark

One more day working under his father's cool and critical gaze is more than Jack Pleasance can take–so he lights out for Richmond, leaving behind a small Virginia hometown; his father, Addie; and his girlfriend, Karen. Jack sleepwalks through odd jobs and pointless liaisons, while Addie stubbornly buries his rage in work.Jack doesn't intend to stay away forever, but weeks collecting the years, until home draws him inexorably back to the unfinished and painful business of his his mother's suicide when he was five, and the accidental death of his brother Roy–the first, and chosen, son.With brilliant clarity, Stephen Stark renders the hard, scuffed surfaces of these two men's lives, drawing us into the arcs of their separate journeys toward forgiveness. For Jack, it will take an act of courage and violence; for Addie, an unexpected source of love squares the circle. Second Son limns the hazardous landscape of love–erotic, parental, and filial–weaving a sensuous, powerful story of what is to be a man, and ultimately, what is to be a family.

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Stephen Stark is the author of the novels The Final Appearance of America's Favorite Girl Next Door, Second Son, and The Outskirts. Second Son was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the year, and a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick. He is also a bestselling ghostwriter. His essays, short stories, and criticism have appeared in The New Yorker, Poets & Writers, The Washington Post and the New York Times Book Review, among other journals. Honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Bread Loaf, where he has also taught. He has taught and worked in the administration of the creative writing program at the University of Houston. Stark currently lives in Virginia and is a graduate of George Mason University and the writing program at Hollins University.