A Faithful Son

by Michael Scott Garvin

Overview

*****The IPPY Awards Winner*****Readers' Favorite Winner*****New York Book Festival Finalist*****Beverly Hills Book Award Winner*****Five Stars San Francisco Book Review*****Five Stars Foreward Reviews*****INDIE Discovery Finalist*****Kirkus Recommended*****Five Star Manhattan Book Review"...A Faithful Son is bound to be a new all time favorite and classic..." Anita Lock, San Francisco Books.....Five Stars Clarion Reviews...."...a stunning debut." Blue Ink..... - Finalist on the Table Of Honor - International Book Festival......."...A Faithful Son is a visceral experience, realistic and vibrant, wrought with the same craftsmanship as a painting resembling a photograph, or a window into another time and place. Michael Scott Garvin has populated his pages with vivid scenes filled with all the colors and sensations of nature, grounding narrator Zach's story in the inevitable passage of time in a way that is particularly rural, attuned to the slow, even pace of life's wear upon the body and the soul..." Patti Comeau - Foreward Reviews......Best of 2016........KIRKUS REVIEW ".... Zach's joy, pain, longing, and isolation are real and palpable throughout, and every piece of the story and setting only furthers the life and experience bled onto the page.....".**San Francisco Book Review**A Faithful Son5 Stars"...Garvin's debut is nothing less than stunning... in the flavor of Harper Lee's inimitable novels-To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman-Garvin, like Harper, has created a colorful cast amid chaotic and enlightening eras., Garvin's plot seamlessly flows between the past...." San Francisco Book Review..............A Faithful Son is an award winning, dazzling debut and genre-defying novel. This captivating coming of age tale chronicles the life of Zach Nance, a young man struggling to find his place in an ever-shifting world and the zany cast of local characters who help him come to an understanding of himself and the secret he harbors. The small town of Durango, Colorado provides the rural backdrop for Garvin's masterful novel. A hunky traveling carnie, an eccentric gaggle of pious church spinsters, a flirty drag queen and Jesus Christ, himself, all make appearances within the pages of this endearing novel. After tragedy befalls the Nance's, Zach's close-knit family unravels. He vows to protect his beloved mother and sister from the fallout of his troubled father's choices - forcing young Zach to redefine his loyalties, his faith and his own destiny. A beautiful and heartrending tale in the grand tradition of To Kill A Mockingbird and The Help. A Faithful Son captures life's bittersweet journey through lost innocence, sacrifice, and self-discovery, treating readers to a compassionate story of enduring hope.Facebook - Michael Scott Garvin Author A Faithful Son

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781519414731
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael Scott Garvin is an award winning custom home builder and interior designer.

A Faithful Son is his debut novel.

Winner of the IPPY Awards
Readers' Favorite Winner
The Beverly Hills Book Awards Gold Medal Winner
Kirkus Recommended
Indie Discovery Finalist
New York Book Festival Finalist

Table of Honor at the International Book Festival.....

His second novel "Aunt Sookie & Me" is available now!

Editorial Reviews

July 21, 2016
Garvin depicts the splendor and squalor of both the natural and human worlds in this debut literary novel. Zachariah Aaron Nance at first appears to be set up for a simple life. Born and raised in Durango, Colorado, he begins life knowing the feeling of dirt under his fingernails, sweat on his brow, and God in his heart. His childhood is split between the natural world and the town and his family. Zach’s father is a salt-of-the-earth type, taking odd jobs across local farms to support the family financially, while Zach’s mother’s strong ties to the Baptist church and the community support them spiritually. Zach’s trials and tribulations also at first seem like the expected hazards of being a growing boy—trouble with school, an eye for mischief, and a hint of the angst that comes of being a middle child. But while there’s youthful joy in small-town living, there’s also poison under its skin in the forms of poverty, alcoholism, racism, and homophobia. When tragedy strikes the family, his father withdraws into drinking, his mother into religion, and Zach loses his fragile grip on the world as he struggles with this fractured clan, the fortitude and responsibility it requires, and his own identity. The writing in this novel is excellent, a mix of clear, no-nonsense storytelling to move the narrative forward and vibrant, nigh-poetic language to describe the play of sunlight, water, dust, greenery, and human beings that make up Zach’s universe (“Colorado mornings on the brink of spring begin with a deep purple reflection rising low on the horizon. The lavender glow spreads out and up as dawn slowly consumes the fading night....The season’s bitter freeze begins its gradual thaw, and the forest floor and frozen tundra welcome the new warmth”). At the same time, the story bravely and honestly delves into the existential questions and trials of faith that Zach undergoes, from a childhood fever dream where he’s visited by Jesus to his more conscious realizations of the unfairness of the world and what God’s role in such a place could be. Finally, straightforward, genuine dialogue gives voice and individuality to the vivid cast of characters. Zach’s joy, pain, longing, and isolation are real and palpable throughout, and every piece of the story and setting only furthers the life and experience bled onto the page. A striking tale of coming-of-age, loss, sexuality, and self-discovery, filled with rich characters.

Kirkus Review