Fathers, Sons, and Brothers - Hardcover

Bret Lott approaches his family history from the perspective of father, son, and brother, allowing him to interweave three generations of experience and communication with the intent to both teach and learn. The individual stories are not laid out chronologically, but the essays serve as a sort of memoir and, when combined, create a clear picture of the family dynamic. In recalling stories of his childhood, Lott compares his interaction with his brothers to the relationship between his two sons, noting the subtle ways in which life comes full circle. Almost unwittingly he finds himself passing on some of the same paternal advice he received, often with undesired effects. Without lapsing into sentimentality, Lott negotiates his family album with sincerity and a keen eye for detail, unafraid to admit that his memories are not always based in reality. There are plenty of tender moments here, from childhood revelations and shared secrets among brothers to tacitly conveyed declarations of love and respect. Not all of the stories end happily, though, despite Lott's optimistic tone. What emerges is the understanding that the male relationships in this family, or in any other, are cause for reflection, wonder, and quiet celebration.

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.