I enjoyed this novel, not so much
because of the story, as for the reason it was written. The author, Ben Erickson is an award-winning
furniture maker, not a writer. He wrote
this book as a gift for his son who was graduating high school, as a kind of
“coming of age” story. In the book, Mr.
Davis, an old widower estranged from his only son, hires Josh, a single,
mother-parented teenage boy, to help him write down his life stories before he
dies and they’re lost.

Once past the real-life event-glue
at the beginning of each chapter, the stories Mr. Davis relates to Josh, who is
charged with writing them down word-for-word, are actually quite well-written
and compelling. It is only in the
sparse, real-life events where the writing appears somewhat clumsy and
contrived that one is aware the book is being written for reasons other than
the creation of the book itself. 
However, the segues between the book events and the stories are handled
competently enough that I was strongly reminded of The Arabian Nights
and eagerly read on to get to the next story.

The subplot of Mr. Davis standing
in for Josh’s absent, uncaring father and Josh for Mr. Davis’ disinterested son
is part of the real-life events of the book and thus not handled as expertly as
the stories. The reader comes to care for
both characters but the uneven writing of the actual events of the book make it
painful; the reader’s ability to stay suspended in the novel’s fictional world
is too difficult at times, which this reader found disappointing.

What made this novel special was the
author’s wish to pass on what he’s learned in his life to his son. As contrived as some of the real-life
situations are in the book, some of the caring and desire to help a younger
person not make future mistakes or to heal or solve old hurts and current
problems, shines through. In reality,
it is sometimes not possible to know the words to say or the time and intensity
are wrong or too great. Writing a book
to give one’s child as a gift, captured my imagination and made me a bit
jealous of Erickson’s eldest son, Bill. 
Given that the book is primarily a personal communication, the writing
flaws are easily forgiven and even a little endearing as they bespeak
Erickson’s vulnerability as a father. I
recommend this book to anyone who would like a good, comforting read.

© 2002 Margo McPhillips

Margo McPhillips is a current client of
mental health services, an avid reader and participant in MHN’s support forums,
works for a large civil engineering firm in Baltimore, Maryland, and enjoys
volunteering for local public library systems. Happily married for over 10
years to a computer design engineer with three grown sons, she and her husband
enjoy camping and race horse handicapping.

Categories: Fiction