The Son

The son is the novel’s central figure, a Jamaican American man living in Tokyo who has built a life that both shelters and exposes him. He is intelligent and observant, but he uses control, routine, and distance to manage anxiety and the lingering effects of past harm, especially the period when Chris’s presence in his family’s home makes safety feel conditional. His relationship with his mother is defined by love and mistrust at the same time. He wants her to see him without trying to reclaim him, yet he interprets her questions as surveillance, which keeps him locked in a cycle of avoidance and irritation.

In Tokyo, he moves through a chosen community that asks him to show up rather than to explain himself. Alan’s bar becomes his most consistent social anchor, a place where affection is expressed through teasing, errands, shared meals...