Searching for His Father

Jonathan Sweetwater loves his beautiful wife and two attractive children. He's living the corporate lifestyle, always on a jet to somewhere often with the CEO of his firm. One afternoon, missing his children, he arrives home early and finds a scene that devastates him. He thinks he's found his wife in bed with another man.

Instead of confronting his wife and dealing with whatever the situation turns out to be, he decides that he can handle it better if he knows more about his father. His father was a famous six times married liberal senator. Jonathan hasn't seen him since his ninth birthday party. He had no relationship with his father who is dead, but now he thinks he might be able to understand the man and as a result himself if he meets the wives.

Jonathan is an engaging character. His angst and trying to get to know his father at this late stage carry the novel. The other characters fade into the background. The wives are stock characters, except for Alice, Jonathan's mother. His wife and children are sweet, but not well enough developed to become real people for the reader.

I felt the plot was thin. Jonathan is obviously upset about the scene with his wife, but he takes a rather convoluted way to deal with it. I found the link between his wife's infidelity and getting to know his father a stretch. The ending is predictable from early in the novel, but it's predictability is not important, it's what Jonathan learns.

The book is a quick read, the settings lush, and there are some good insights. For light reading, it's a reasonable choice.

I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.