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Some of you might know, I have an older sister. She's 35, has two kids and lives several hours away from Montreal. We never really had a good relationship until a couple years ago. It's crazy what time, biology and dust can do to you. When life took upon herself to remind me how little I had in recent years, I've started to cherish what was mine, at least a little more. Whether you want it or not, blood's always there. It screams through you and prompts you into action almost against you will and reason. Mike Miner's first novel PRODIGAL SONS is a road narrative, but it's (oddly) also a coming of age and a story of doing right by your blood. It's a lot of cool things.
The co-protagonist of PRODIGAL SONS Matthew Flanagan made it. He's working a big shot job in California and lives the good life. He's also lucky enough to be married to a beautiful Portugese woman named Lucinda. When Matthew's life starts collapsing around him because of his heavy drinking, he refuses to face his demons and runs away to Vegas with an underage girl. Back in Connecticut where he comes from, his brothers Mark and Luke get word of Matthew's recent antics and decide to bring the wayward child of the family home. Stepping into somebody's life out of the blue can prove to be dangerous, even when that person's your own brother.
PRODIGAL SONS is a novel that doesn't have one particular standout aspect, but that prides itself in having as little flaws as possible. It's as smooth and pleasant of a read as it gets. For example, it's a road novel with a tremendous sense of place. I haven't been to many locations described by Mike Miner in PRODIGAL SONS, but I have been to Vegas and his depiction of Sin City is livelier and more accurate than most novels I've read who were entirely located there. I know it was published by up-and-coming crime imprint All Due Respect Books, but think about PRODIGAL SONS like Jack Kerouac's ON THE ROAD, meets (very) early Haruki Murakami's existential mysticism and the self-loathing of contemporary crime fiction such as BREAKING BAD. I wasn't lying when I said it was a lot of cool things.
The co-protagonist of PRODIGAL SONS Matthew Flanagan made it. He's working a big shot job in California and lives the good life. He's also lucky enough to be married to a beautiful Portugese woman named Lucinda. When Matthew's life starts collapsing around him because of his heavy drinking, he refuses to face his demons and runs away to Vegas with an underage girl. Back in Connecticut where he comes from, his brothers Mark and Luke get word of Matthew's recent antics and decide to bring the wayward child of the family home. Stepping into somebody's life out of the blue can prove to be dangerous, even when that person's your own brother.
PRODIGAL SONS is a novel that doesn't have one particular standout aspect, but that prides itself in having as little flaws as possible. It's as smooth and pleasant of a read as it gets. For example, it's a road novel with a tremendous sense of place. I haven't been to many locations described by Mike Miner in PRODIGAL SONS, but I have been to Vegas and his depiction of Sin City is livelier and more accurate than most novels I've read who were entirely located there. I know it was published by up-and-coming crime imprint All Due Respect Books, but think about PRODIGAL SONS like Jack Kerouac's ON THE ROAD, meets (very) early Haruki Murakami's existential mysticism and the self-loathing of contemporary crime fiction such as BREAKING BAD. I wasn't lying when I said it was a lot of cool things.
A view from Matthew Flanagan's hotel room window.
One theme in PRODIGAL SONS that I really liked was the end of the American Dream. I mean, Matthew Flanagan made it, so where is he supposed to go from there? He is caught in that self-congratulatory, yet self-destructive cycle for which there seem to be a supporting social structure existing. For both of his brothers, which he shares the narration of PRODIGAL SONS with, life is still a struggle but for Matthew, it's when it ceased to be that he started creating new ones. This is illustrated very aptly by Mike Miner, through the drinking habit running through the Flanagan family. Every man in the family is drinking, but it means something different to each, and they don't hit the bottle with the same intensity. It's that kind of subtle details sewn into the narrative that make PRODIGAL SONS such a sophisticated and flavourful read.
I'm a sucker for originality. The most important trait a narrative needs in order to satisfy me, is an identity of its own. PRODIGAL SONS draws inspiration from several classic works of fiction (as mentioned above), but it ended up finding its own sweet spot and thriving through themes who are visibly important to the author. Most important, it's a novel that stays within itself. It might not be an emotional swing ride, but Mike Miner goes for accuracy and purpose rather than hunting for spectacular emotions. It's a sneaky-important thing for a first time novelist. It means he has control over his craft already, which is a trait some writers never acquire. It's a telltale sign of great potential. Come get some Mike Miner while there are still a couple empty seats in the bandwagon.