The lost son

by Brent Spencer

Powerful gusts from family fission sweep us into The Lost Son. Having decided men's problems are too far gone for help, Ellen has left Redmond, her lover of twelve years, and Nick, her sixteen-year-old son, and struck out on her own. Redmond was a wide spot in the road, Ellen repeats to herself, nothing more. Leaving him was as clean a getaway as a getaway gets. On the other hand, what she should say to her son is beyond her, so when she calls up and Nick answers, silence does the talking. Pushing his characters to the wild edge of themselves, Brent Spencer allows their voices to tell an unsettling and unforgettable story. Ellen, Redmond, and Nick are the exploded American nuclear family, crucifying one another for all the things life didn't deliver, blaming each other for every wound - including the self-inflicted ones - and hopelessly tangled up.