Fathers, Sons, and Brothers

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.

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., 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 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., The New York Times Book Review Lott observes and beautifully renders those small moments that can change a life.

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.