It’s called the "sandwich" generation, grown children who are simultaneously caring for both aging parents and nearly adult children. Karl Preston, at fifty-two, certainly fits this image, as he lives an emotionally comfortable life with his wife and daughter in an affluent North Carolina suburb. But preparing for a weekend visit to his elderly parents’ Florida home, Karl becomes increasingly aware of the pressing concerns of their faltering lives—realizing too it will be the first time in years he has seen his gay brother, Sven.
Frank, Karl’s father, is bellicose and bewildered, and Annike, his still beautiful mother, is increasingly isolated, despite her fluency in three languages. Then there is Sven: Harried, loving, and hopeful, he is a forty-year-old gay man who finds his life bound by the confines of his parents’ needs, a situation that has taken over his life.
In rich, lyrical prose, Jay Quinn charts what happens when responsibility outweighs love, when obligation turns to guilt, and when the walls come down and the truth unfolds. The Beloved Son marks a new chapter in Jay Quinn’s remarkable career, as he paints both a loving and tortured portrait of the modern-day family.
Jay Quinn can really tell a story. He did so beautifully in “The Good Neighbor” and in “Back Where He Started” and he does so again in “The Beloved Son”. Quinn basically writes about those in the gay population who are under-represented—those who are not out in your face but choose to live quiet lives as part of mainstream society. He writes about that generation in which children who have grown up are caring both for parents who are aging and children who are almost adult themselves. He captures those moments of contemporary life that are intimate and in “The Beloved Son”, he shows us the ability of a family to cope with the changes of life that are both delicate and major.
Karl Preston, at age 52, lives the ideal America life with his wife and 24 year old daughter. He has cash and a beautiful home and everything seems to be just fine until his father asks him and his family to come to Florida for a visit. The visit brings about a series of events that are highly emotional and fro which Karl is in no way prepared.
Karl’s parents, Frank and Annike, announce during the visit that they have decided to move into a retirement community and it is their desire to divide their possessions among their children and grandchild. Karl realizes that this situation will bring him face to face with his gay brother, Sven, from who he has been estranged. Sven has been the primary care giver of the parents and as been forced to deal with all of the daily problems, especially with the mother’s dementia which has been getting much worse.
Karl now realizes, also, that the time has come to say goodbye to the mother he has known and loved. He must also lay the foundations for a deeper and more meaningful relationship with the family that he has left. He discovers that what was meant to be nothing more than a visit home has turned into a journey—one that is life-affirming and heart-rending and that he must deal with those that he had moved to the sidelines of his life.
Karl’s brother Sven, a forty-year-old gay male has lived his life bound by the needs of his parents in a situation that has overtaken his life. Now with the chance of being free from those constraints, an entire world is awaiting his re-entry.
We get a clear picture of what happens when responsibility is weightier than love and when obligation has turned to guilt. The walls are torn down and truth emerges unbridled. The book is a tortured look at a modern day family and it is love that brings them together.
