The Perfect Son is a lovely novel about a family upended by
a medical emergency. Ella and Felix have a teenage son, Harry, who has Tourette Syndrome, among other things. The family has been operating in a set fashion
for years, with Felix lost in his high stakes business world, and Ella managing
Harry’s care and education. Then, on a return trip from assisting her father
after he had an operation, Ella collapses from a heart attack. Clearly, she has
been taking care of everyone else but herself. Her condition is critical, and
she must recuperate in hospital while Felix takes over the day to day duties of
raising a child with special needs.
The story alternates between the three characters’
viewpoints, with very distinguishable voices for each of them. The real
surprise for me was how wonderfully she expressed Harry’s character. It would
be easy to feel sorry for a boy with Tourette’s and ADHD, and yet it’s his
father who we end up pitying more. He can’t seem to relate to his child, even
though he shares some similar traits, and every word of praise that he offers
(and those are few and far between) has a stinging critique at the end of it. Harry, on the other hand, accepts himself for who he is and seems to be doing just fine for someone in his situation: perfect SAT scores, reliable friends and even a hot girlfriend.
With a story like this, you’d expect to be in a puddle of
tears immediately, but Barbara Claypole White does a great job of not playing
up the emotional side too much. While the family is dealing with a sad and potentially
fatal situation, there are still many laughs and shenanigans along the way, not
to mention plenty of redemption for Felix as he comes to understand, love and
accept his perfect son. This is a great read, and as an added bonus it’s a Kindle First selection for June, so it’s either free (Amazon Prime members) or greatly
reduced in price this month.
