When Nathan, for the first time in six years, obeys his dog, and follows her to a stack of leaves, his life is changed forever.
Buried in the deep leaves on the cold day, he discovers the body of a newborn infant, still alive, and rushes him to the hospital. Nathan repeated utterances in the days following: “I want to adopt that boy.”
Both Nathan and his namesake, Nate/Nat endure numerous changes in their lives after that day, with Nathan watching Nat from afar. While Nathan moves through his quiet life, peacefully; Nat faces very different challenges, struggling to live with the burden of his past –being born to a mother who didn’t want him and discarded him in the woods – in addition to living up to the potential and dreams he has for himself. When the two mens’ paths intersect again, both have their strength tested, their loyalty and faith, not only in their strength to deal with the challenges that their relationship brings, but their faith in their own loyalty and love for one another that offers Nat a chance to redeem himself.
Author Catherine Ryan Hyde has masterfully woven together themes of redemption, love and faith into this moving story that brings together two people from completely different demographics and reveals how they learn to trust and believe in one another – and themselves.
Hyde’s language and style is clear and crisp, while the images are ordinary yet so powerful, rendering the truths that Nathan must reveal to Nat, all the more powerful. This is seen in the scene where Nathan and Nat are cleaning ducks that they have just hunted: “They worked in silence a few minutes, then the boy asked, “Do you know whatever happened to my mother after they let her out of prison?” Nathan froze in his movements, standing stock-still with a handful of entrails.”
The characters’ interactions and observations are poignant reflections of their personalities, for example when revealing Nathan’s relationship with his indifferent wife: “He listened to the occasional creak of Flora’s squeaky board, and noticed it sounded lonely. Or maybe that was just him.”
Hyde’s multi-faceted story, with its beautifully flawed, rich characters, is emotional and dramatically spellbinding.
Reviewed by Maya Fleischmann for IndieReader