The Eagle Kite: A Novel

by Paula Fox

His mother's news that his father is seriously ill from a blood transfusion causes Liam to recall seeing his father embrace another man on the beach three years earlier and to find a way to come to terms with shock and sorrow. By the author of Western Wind.

Genres: Young Adult, Gay, Fiction

127 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Paula Fox was an American author of novels for adults and children and two memoirs. Her novel The Slave Dancer (1973) received the Newbery Medal in 1974; and in 1978, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. More recently, A Portrait of Ivan won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2008.

A teenage marriage produced a daughter, Linda, in 1944. Given the tumultuous relationship with her own biological parents, she gave the child up for adoption. Linda Carroll, the daughter Fox gave up for adoption, is the mother of musician Courtney Love.

Fox then attended Columbia University, married the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg, raised two sons, taught, and began to write.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 not an easy topic to address from the perspective of a young adolescent, but I thought that Fox did a beautiful job of capturing Liam's turmoil at coming to terms with his father's AIDS diagnosis. It felt quite realistic in terms of capturing a historical period of time where there was much superstition, shame and stigma surrounding AIDS and homosexuality. Quick little read, think it's YA, but definitely worth a read. My edition was called "The Gathering Darkness" but I think I prefer "Eagle Kite."

[Leann Maxwell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so incredibly boring to me. Fox spent way too much time describing the setting instead of describing the character's feelings. The book is about how a family deals with the father dying of AIDS. The way the father contracted AIDS is part of the story, but only in a shameful way. The father never really gets the chance to reconcile with the family, and the son stays mad far too long. I did not like this book.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, Luke has to deal with the fact that his father is dying of AIDS. On top of that he learns and has to accept an incident that happened in his childhood for what it really was; his father is gay. The story is good, but I was put off by the way the family held onto secrets and shame instead of letting go and spending Luke's fathers last days together.

[Nana Dona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Liam's father has AIDS. He tells Liam that it came from an infected blood transfusion, however Liam distinctively remembers his father being friends with another man named Geoff. Liam is not only coming to terms with the fact that his father is diagnosed with AIDS, but he is also dealing with coping with the information that his mother is upset, and his father has left her to be in a relationship with a man.

Actually not fan.

[LauraKatarooma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olipas se ihana tarina.

[Aurora Corsini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Era colpa sua, no? Era stato lui a portare nella loro vita quella cosa terribile, quella cosa che costringeva tutti loro a raccontare un mucchio di bugie e ad affrontare da soli le proprie paure."

Negli anni ‘90, negli Stati Uniti, sembra impossibile aver contratto l’AIDS tramite una trasfusione di sangue e Liam lo sa bene: apprendere della malattia di suo padre è terribile, capire che tutti gli stanno mentendo è peggio. Il padre malato si trasferisce in un cottage al mare per curarsi, ma la lontananza non mitiga la rabbia, perché Liam conosce la verità, pur avendola negata per anni, seppellendola sotto la sabbia come i frammenti di un aquilone in un giorno d’estate. Quello che Liam ha visto in passato, troppo giovane per comprendere ma abbastanza intelligente da sapere che non sarebbe dovuto accadere, acquisterà nuovi, sconvolgenti significati, aprendo le porte a domande inquietanti sugli adulti che avrebbero dovuto guidarlo attraverso la vita.

“E io che cosa dovrò dire agli altri?” insisté Liam.
Il padre e la madre parlarono contemporaneamente.
“AIDS” disse lui.
“Cancro” disse lei.

Quando le bugie degli adulti crolleranno sotto il loro stesso peso, resterà solamente l’inevitabilità della malattia e la consapevolezza che anche un padre può diventare un essere fragile e che un figlio può stringergli la mano, rassicurandolo prima della fine.
La tematica dell’omosessualità di un genitore è forte, soprattutto se accentuata da quella della malattia, ma l’autrice la affronta usando una scrittura pulita e netta, che riesce a esprimere dolore, amore e tenerezza con grande sensibilità. Liam è un adolescente confuso, colmo di rabbia, e noi seguiamo la sua lenta presa di coscienza della verità sulla sua famiglia, lo vediamo crescere dimostrando una maturità maggiore rispetto a quella di alcuni degli adulti che lo circondano (significativa in tal senso la figura della zia paterna).
Un romanzo che, nella sua dolce tristezza, illumina alcune zone d’ombra della società contemporanea, nella quale le famiglie sono molto più complesse di quello che molti pensano. (recensione già pubblicata su Romanticamente Fantasy Sito)

[Phil Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this short book about a young man dealing with his father being ill with AIDS; and with the lies, evasions and deceptions which are part of the situation, a wee gem. It addresses a very difficult situation, and the family dynamics are portrayed with great sympathy. One difficulty the boy Liam has is coming to terms with the realisation that his father's illness did indeed result from a homosexual relationship, and that he has had sexual relations with both Liam's mother and with a male lover. One of the strongest episodes for me happens late on in the book when Liam surprises himself by upbraiding his school friend for taunting a gay person.

One thing I found a bit out of joint was that I found Liam's being in love with schoolmate Deirdre. I thought their attraction and friendship premature at age 13. In most respects, Liam's age is appropriate to the story but in this aspect I thought he sounded a couple of years older. Deirdre is a very small part of the story; she functions in informing Liam's thought processes as he tries to integrate what he knows and feels about sex - the comical, the ugly and the beautiful.

As Liam's father is approaching death, the father and son relationship grows more open and honest. There was some hint that Liam's rigid and embittered paternal aunt might regain some of the character of her kinder younger self, but unfortunately that doesn't happen. Still there is some redemption in Liam and his mother coming to terms with their loved one's demise.

[Cameron C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story deals with a teenage boy named Liam. Liam's father has AIDS. He tells Liam that it came from an infected blood transfusion, however Liam distinctively remembers his father being friends with another man named Geoff. Liam is not only coming to terms with the fact that his father is diagnosed with AIDS, but he is also dealing with coping with the information that his mother is upset, and his father has left her to be in a relationship with a man. In the novel you see Liam struggling with understanding who his father is. In one sense he wants to impress him, in another, he doesn't want to acknowledge the existence of his father.

This novel would be very tricky to teach in a school setting. The language and vocabulary are more towards the middle school grade levels, but the context and severity of the novel are very much adult situations. The good thing about the novel is that is could be used closely with a biology lesson in AIDS. The book somewhat covers how AIDS can be transmitted but it doesn't go into depth on the myths about AIDS. I personally would not choose to teach this book, but I do feel that it made a significant benchmark in regards to students dealing with newly discovered parental homosexuality. It is not an easy topic o discuss, but Paula Fox does an elegant job with creating Liam's emotions to be very real, and understandable.

[Sarah]

This story deals with a teenage boy named Liam. Liam's father has AIDS. He tells Liam that it came from an infected blood transfusion, however Liam distinctively remembers his father being friends with another man named Geoff. Liam is not only coming to terms with the fact that his father is diagnosed with AIDS, but he is also dealing with coping with the information that his mother is upset, and his father has left her to be in a relationship with a man. In the novel you see Liam struggling with understanding who his father is. In one sense he wants to impress him, in another, he doesn't want to acknowledge the existence of his father.

This novel would be very tricky to teach in a school setting. The language and vocabulary are more towards the middle school grade levels, but the context and severity of the novel are very much adult situations. The good thing about the novel is that is could be used closely with a biology lesson in AIDS. The book somewhat covers how AIDS can be transmitted but it doesn't go into depth on the myths about AIDS. I personally would not choose to teach this book, but I do feel that it made a significant benchmark in regards to students dealing with newly discovered parental homosexuality. It is not an easy topic o discuss, but Paula Fox does an elegant job with creating Liam's emotions to be very real, and understandable.

[Group 1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story deals with a teenage boy named Liam. Liam's father has AIDS. He tells Liam that it came from an infected blood transfusion, however Liam distinctively remembers his father being friends with another man named Geoff. Liam is not only coming to terms with the fact that his father is diagnosed with AIDS, but he is also dealing with coping with the information that his mother is upset, and his father has left her to be in a relationship with a man. In the novel you see Liam struggling with understanding who his father is. In one sense he wants to impress him, in another, he doesn't want to acknowledge the existence of his father.

This novel would be very tricky to teach in a school setting. The language and vocabulary are more towards the middle school grade levels, but the context and severity of the novel are very much adult situations. The good thing about the novel is that is could be used closely with a biology lesson in AIDS. The book somewhat covers how AIDS can be transmitted but it doesn't go into depth on the myths about AIDS. I personally would not choose to teach this book, but I do feel that it made a significant benchmark in regards to students dealing with newly discovered parental homosexuality. It is not an easy topic o discuss, but Paula Fox does an elegant job with creating Liam's emotions to be very real, and understandable.

[Nichole Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book is well written and delivered. I feel that this book is too controversial to bring into the classroom. Although, I am a strong supporter of real life situations being brought into the classroom, I feel that certain boundaries would be crossed when reading this book. Therefore, I feel that this book would better be suited for individual leisure reading, and not to be read collectively as a class.

Liam, the main character, is trying to come to terms with a few issues. First, his father has AIDS. Second, his father lied to him about how he contracted the illness. And finally, Lima must deal with the fact that his father left his mother for another man. While I could appreciate the complexity of the book, I feel that readers might find it a bit too much to swallow. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend this book this book for the faint of heart or young readers.

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liam, the protagonist, turned just 13 when he learnt about his father’s deadly sickness - AIDS. During the year leading to his 14th birthday and his father's death we follow his family decomposing process. Liam's mother seems to be helpless and lost. One secondary character, Liam’s Aunt Mary, adds to the family tragedy in the book: she is angry, tight-lipped and superstitious. She represents very conservative side of the society. I think this book is not so much about homosexuality but more about a family in crisis due to irresponsibility of adults – their lies, selfishness, broken promises.
I would recommend this book to young adults over 13 years old.

[Machaia · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for an uplifting book, this is not the book for you. However, the book had some important things to say. I appreciate the very realistic look at the devestation a parent's infedelity wreaks on a family. Furthermore, it showed how no matter what Liam's father had done, he was still his father. Their last true scene together (where Philip was lucid) was very poiniont and vivid.

[Soledad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it.