Once in a while a novel comes along which makes you realise why we read, & Sons is that novel. On 5th Avenue at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Phillip Topping is attending his father, Charlie Topping's funeral, however this is no ordinary funeral as Charlie was a life long friend of A.N. Dyer, a renowned author whose novel Ampersand set the literary world alight and has become the 'Catcher in the Rye' of its time. Dyer now very reclusive is attending and the funeral is packed with fans hoping to claim a signature or a piece of the great man. Dependent upon his youngest son Andy, Dyer has become convinced that he will be attending another funeral very shortly, only this time it will be his own, and so he decides to bring together his 3 sons in order to sort out his affairs and right some wrongs which have happened over his and their lifetime. We witness past, present and future events through the ever present narrator Phillip Topping which will have repercussions for the Dyers and the Toppings and we soon realise that Phillip himself may not just be a casual observer and narrator within this tale. & Sons deserves to become a modern American classic work of literature. David Gilbert's writing is tremendous, his prose has a naturalistic flow to it and is incisive, witty and just a dream to read, in fact A.N. Dyer would be proud to have produced & Sons! An absolute joy, what more can I say.

A wonderful, dark, cynical, engrossing story. The writing is just gorgeous with every word and sentence loaded with meaning and the descriptions wonderfully evocative. The story is about families and friends and how the bonds with each can be twisted and broken, and sometimes rebuilt, but not completely mended. Brilliant

David Gilbert's second novel '& Sons' follows the life of A. N. Dyer; a Salinger like author of enormous literary success, and his estranged sons. Written from the point of view of Philip Topping, a family friend, we are given a voyeuristic insight in to the workings of a dysfunctional family trying to make amends after many years apart. Gilbert's ability to write prose is staggering. His talent for observation is second to none but he writes in a way that never feels overbearing. The New York he has written is rich in detail and full of energy. There are times when pages give way to beautiful descriptions of the city making it feel like a character in its own right. Likewise each member of the Dyer family is crafted with such mind blowing detail that it is hard to believe that they are fictional. & Sons explores the themes of art, love, growing up and most importantly family. It is an ambitious novel that swings wildly between raucous comedy and crippling heartbreak. Gilbert has perfectly captured the relationships between father and son and all the baggage that comes with them. Competitiveness, jealousy and fear of failure are prominent themes within each relationship but underneath all of these lie the threads of love that make each family somewhat relatable. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anybody who enjoys reading the literary fiction that usually pops up on big prize lists such as the Man Booker or Pulitzer because I'm sure this one is going to make it on to those lists very soon.

David Gilbert's second novel '& Sons' follows the life of A. N. Dyer; a Salinger like author of enormous literary success, and his estranged sons. Written from the point of view of Philip Topping, a family friend, we are given a voyeuristic insight in to the workings of a dysfunctional family trying to make amends after many years apart. Gilbert's ability to write prose is staggering. His talent for observation is second to none but he writes in a way that never feels overbearing. The New York he has written is rich in detail and full of energy. There are times when pages give way to beautiful descriptions of the city making it feel like a character in its own right. Likewise each member of the Dyer family is crafted with such mind blowing detail that it is hard to believe that they are fictional. & Sons explores the themes of art, love, growing up and most importantly family. It is an ambitious novel that swings wildly between raucous comedy and crippling heartbreak. Gilbert has perfectly captured the relationships between father and son and all the baggage that comes with them. Competitiveness, jealousy and fear of failure are prominent themes within each relationship but underneath all of these lie the threads of love that make each family somewhat relatable. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anybody who enjoys reading the literary fiction that usually pops up on big prize lists such as the Man Booker or Pulitzer because I'm sure this one is going to make it on to those lists very soon.

What should have been a quiet family funeral is turned into a sideshow when the deceased's boyhood friend turns up to pay his respects. He is not just any friend but the best selling and increasingly reclusive author Andrew Dyer. Having to watch his friend die from a long illness and then the burial makes Andrew face his own mortality and question the way he has lived his life and especially how he has treated his three sons- two from his marriage and the third from an indiscretion later in life. He wants the two older boys, now adults with their own troubles, to look after the teenage Andy Jnr when the time comes for his own demise. Told over several decades this is a sometimes moving but also darkly comic family sag and is a fantastic read which has nicely fed my American fiction addiction that I'm currently nursing and I highly recommend it.