The Good Son: A Novel

by Michael Gruber

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Michael Gruber, a member of "the elite ranks of those who can both chill the blood and challenge the mind" (The Denver Post), delivers a taut, multilayered, riveting novel of suspense

Somewhere in Pakistan, Sonia Laghari and eight fellow members of a symposium on peace are being held captive by armed terrorists. Sonia, a deeply religious woman as well as a Jungian psychologist, has become the de facto leader of the kidnapped group. While her son Theo, an ex-Delta soldier, uses his military connections to find and free the victims, Sonia tries to keep them all alive by working her way into the kidnappers' psyches and interpreting their dreams. With her knowledge of their language, her familiarity with their religion, and her Jungian training, Sonia confounds her captors with her insights and beliefs. Meanwhile, when the kidnappers decide to kill their captives, one by one, in retaliation for perceived crimes against their country, Theo races against the clock to try and save their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312674946
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/15/2011
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	596,976
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Michael Gruber, author of New York Times bestseller The Book of Air and Shadows, The Forgery of Venus, Night of the Jaguar, Tropic of Night, and Valley of Bones, has a Ph.D. in marine sciences and began freelance writing while working in Washington, D.C. as a policy analyst and speech writer. Since 1990, he has been a full-time writer. He is married and lives in Seattle, Washington.

Hometown:

Seattle, Washington

Date of Birth:

October 1, 1940

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

B.A., Columbia University, 1961; Ph.D., University of Miami, 1973

Website:

http://www.michaelgruberbooks.com

Reading Group Guide

1. What role does America play in this novel? As a character, how does it influence the course of the story?

2. This novel introduces many different archetypal women-Gloria, Rashida, Cynthia, Sonia, and all the unnamed "black figures" that appear throughout. What are their main differences? Similarities? What do all of these women bring out in Theo?

3. In the beginning of the novel, we are presented with the image of a hawk swooping down and killing a pigeon. How is this image carried throughout the rest of the story, and what are some of its possible interpretations?

4. Throughout The Good Son we are shown many scenes of torture-the mujahideen torturing Sonia and the prisoners, the U.S. agents torturing Cynthia, and the many scenes of torture in Hell that we see through the dreams Sonia interprets. How do each of these kinds of persuasion tactics differ and what do they tell us about the people behind them?

5. How does this novel touch upon relevant current events? How does it relate to your experiences in the aftermath of 9/11?

6. What can we learn about the world-and ourselves-from Theo's story? From Sonia's?

7. Is there a moral to be taken from The Good Son?

8. The role of family is very important throughout Theo's life. Discuss his relationship with his father, mother, and women in general.

9. What do you think is the next chapter for Cynthia and Theo-do you think they will, in fact, work together? Would you have ended the book the same way the author did?

Editorial Reviews

This is a thriller, but also a novel of the mind—I learned more about the radical mindset in these 320 pages than in all the political punditry I've read or watched in the last five years. Highly recommended.” —Stephen King

“… The brilliant character development and the labyrinthine plot line, not to mention the absorbing history of modern jihadism and the U.S. war on terrorism, make this a provocative thriller that readers won't soon forget.” —PW (Starred)

“Is there anything Gruber can't write about? In this richly layered tale,… there are twists and tension aplenty—ideas, too. If only governments were half as interested in the psychology of violence, maybe war itself might become a work of fiction.” —Booklist (Starred)

“Gruber… weaves threads together masterfully while successfully exploring themes of family, duty, loyalty, cultural identity and more, without ever slowing the momentum. Smart, tense and vastly entertaining.” —Kirkus

“The Good Son, by Michael Gruber, is one of those few and far between complex, intelligent, and insightful thrillers. The main character, Theo Bailey, is a Special Operations soldier who decides to take a more-or-less unauthorized leave from the Army to locate his mother, Jungian psychotherapist Sonia Bailey Laghari, who's disappeared near Kashmir. Sonia, who'd become a practicing Muslim when she married a Pakistani, was in South Asia to convene a symposium on "Conflict Resolution on the Subcontinent: A Therapeutic Approach" with a group of fellow pacifists. Ironically—given the title of the symposium—she and her fellow participants, who include an American billionaire, a Jesuit priest, and a Quaker couple, are kidnapped by terrorists, who may or may not have nuclear weapons at their disposal. Unless Theo can figure out what's going on and how to foil the terrorists' plans, his mother is doomed. At worst, the terrorists will use the nuclear devices; at best, Sonia and the rest will die by beheading. Because you're immediately sucked into the intricate and page-turning plot, this is a good novel for a long plane flight; but readers who are looking for a thriller with a strong philosophical subtext—the sort of novel that makes you think about families, loyalty, religion, and politics—will find just what they're looking for in Gruber's finest novel to date.” —Nancy Pearl, Booklust

From the Publisher

Gruber's seventh novel, The Good Son, is perhaps his most ambitious…[he] serves up a slam-bang ending that involves a nuclear weapon, a gun battle, a plot to blow up Saudi oil terminals and many surprises.
—The Washington Post

Patrick Anderson

Bestseller Gruber (Forgery of Venus) explores America's political involvement in South Asia and the bloody religious and ethnic fanaticism associated with the region in his superb seventh novel. Sonia Laghari, a Pakistani-American writer and psychologist, sets up a conference on peace in Kashmir, “the most terrorist-infested place on earth,” only to have her and her small group of pacifists abducted and held captive by terrorists, who may or may not be manufacturing nuclear weapons. All but doomed to a public beheading, Sonia uses her familiarity with Islamic doctrine as well as her knowledge of Jungian psychology in an attempt to enlighten her deeply conflicted captors. Though the numerous bombshells at the end may strain credulity, the brilliant character development and labyrinthine plot line, not to mention the absorbing history of modern jihadism and the U.S. war on terrorism, make this a provocative thriller that readers won't soon forget. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Gruber (The Book of Air and Shadows) has established an enviable reputation as a writer who both challenges readers' minds and stirs up their blood. His latest high-stakes thriller—good from start to finish—will enhance this reputation. In Pakistan, a band of jihadists kidnaps nine members of an international peace symposium; among those captured is psychologist Sonia Laghari, who has a long, complicated involvement in Pakistan and the rest of the Muslim world. She uses Jungian insights and her faith to build fragile bridges to the jihadists, trying to persuade them to confront their violent choices. Meanwhile, her soldier son races to save her. He plots with well-placed relatives in Pakistan to trick the Americans into sending in troops, while a hotshot analyst with the NSA tries to convince her superiors they're being hoaxed. The three narratives converge in an unexpected and satisfying climax. VERDICT There are many surprises in this excellent thriller, including its ability to inform. It should appeal broadly to lovers of spy stories and action novels in general. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/10.]—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

Library Journal

A son reconnects with his past as he goes to astonishing lengths to save his mother from the radicals who have kidnapped her. When terrorists in Pakistan snatch the participants in a peace symposium, one of the people they grab is Sonia Laghari. They quickly learn that she is no ordinary hostage. On one hand, Sonia's quite a prize. She's been wanted for decades in the Islamic world, ever since she went on the hajj disguised as a man, violating Islamic law along the way. On the other hand, Sonia's not the sort of person to quietly do as her captors command, and with the skills she's learned from her childhood in the circus, her Jungian training and her propensity for using quotes from the Koran against her captors, she has plenty of unusual tools on hand to cause problems. Perhaps the most dangerous thing Sonia has going for her, though, is the fact that her son is the legendary Kakay Ghazan, a famous mujahideen who once, as a young boy, single-handedly captured a Russian base during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. But now the proud Pashtun warrior Kakay Ghazan is Theo Bailey, an American citizen and ex-Delta who serves on a top-secret U.S. military team. When Theo figures out there probably won't be an official mission to rescue his mother and the rest of the symposium participants, he decides to do whatever it takes to get her out. Meanwhile, back in the States, a young translator on her way up begins to suspect something fishy is going on with all the cell-phone intercepts they've been catching lately, wherein radical Islamists are uncharacteristically bold about discussing a nuclear device they seem to have gotten their hands on. Gruber (The Forgery of Venus, 2008, etc.) weavesthe threads together masterfully while successfully exploring themes of family, duty, loyalty, cultural identity and more, without ever slowing the momentum. Smart, tense and vastly entertaining.

Kirkus Reviews