The Boy: A Novel
Santoro’s second novel (after Mercy, 2007), follows one woman’s unraveling after an affair with a younger man propels her to reexamine her perspectives on motherhood and her own identity. A former journalist, Anna is now a single mother in her forties. She and her precocious 8-year-old daughter, Eva, are now living in New Mexico after a bitter split with Eva’s father, who remains in England. An addition to their household is Espi, Eva’s protective caretaker, who has alcohol and gambling problems. The neighbor’s 20-year-old son, a college dropout, is inexplicably drawn to Anna, and the two begin an affair. When Eva travels abroad to spend time with her father, “the boy” moves in with Anna, much to the displeasure of seemingly everyone. Things inevitably begin to lurch out of control as the demons of Anna’s former life come into play, and her self-involved choices lead to catastrophic events in her life and the lives of those around her. Santoro’s fast-paced style aptly conveys Anna’s frenetic downward spiral. --Leah Strauss