Probation

by Tom Mendicino

Paperback, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

PS3613.E4825 P76 2010

Publication

New York : Kensington Books, ©2010.

Description

Fiction. Literature. HTML:All it took to destroy Andy Nocera's seemingly perfect life was an anonymous tryst at an Interstate rest area. Sentenced to probation and thrown out by his wife, he spends his week as a traveling salesman, and his weekends at his mother's house where no questions are asked�??and no explanations are offered. To clear his record, the State of North Carolina requires Andy to complete one year of therapy without another arrest. He attends his sessions reluctantly at first, struggling to comprehend why he would risk everything. Answers don't come easily, especially in the face of his mother's sudden illness and his repeated failure to live as an openly gay man. But as Andy searches his past, he gets an opportunity to rescue another lost soul�??and a chance at a future that is different in every way from the one he had envisioned. With profound honesty, sharp wit, and genuine heart, this debut novel portrays one man's search�??for love and passion, acceptance and redemption�??and for the courage to really live. "If you're looking for a smart, engaging, witty, sad and unusual book about the complicated nature of family and love, try Tom Mendicino's Probation. You'll be glad you did." �??Bart Yates "Probation is the rare novel that dares to take the reader on a journey through the dark night of the soul. An unflinching look at the dark side of self-discovery, it is ultimately a story of transformation and the worlds of possibilities hidden within each of us." �??Michael Thomas Ford Tom Mendicino spent six raucous years roaming the country and eking out a living in the Sales Department of several New York publishing houses before attending the law school of the University of North Carolina. His stories, some of them excerpts from Probation, have appeared in several r… (more)

Media reviews

3 more
There are many moments of lyrical beauty, plus enough cinematic twists and turns—disturbing tricks, the ex-wife’s new life, a gay relative, Andy’s mother’s illness—to keep readers anxiously racing through the chapters. Read more: Probation - Gay & Lesbian - Time Out New York
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http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/gay-lesbian/69380/probation#ixzz1CHvCqEkH
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For a debut novel, Probation, with its compelling characterizations and intricate tale of redemption and self-acceptance, exceeds all expectations. With its dark overtones and message of hope and courage, it is a read that both rewards and enlightens.

User reviews

LibraryThing member gentlespirit512
I felt such sympathy AND empathy for Andy in the hard place he found himself in. That wasn't what I expected. I thought I'd identify more with his wife, because she was the "innocent" one in the marriage. But there's always more than one side to the story, and so it is with Andy and Alice. Did she
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know? Or at least suspect? I could never decide. Their marriage was as happy as one could expect it to be when one partner is withholding such a big part of himself.

I loved the relationship between Andy and his therapist Matt who was also a priest. I couldn't help but be angry with Matt because he left abruptly, though.

The story was the kind that I want to believe led to a happy ending. But I don't think anyone but Alice got that happy ending. I hope that all the things Andy went through helped him "find himself" one day.
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LibraryThing member presto
Following an indiscretion at a rest area Andy, a married man of about forty years, finds himself sentenced to a years probation. His wife, with the active backing of his father in law kicks him out and he moves back to live with his widowed mother. Over the course of the year we follow Andy through
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the regular counselling that is part of the terms of his probation with a doctor/priest. He has to contend with his antagonistic sister, the failing health of his mother, and his own inclinations which drive him towards one night stands with other men. But it is not all despair for Andy as his cousin's teenage son comes out to him and needs his help, and he may even have an admirer.

What is most notable about Probation is the quality of the writing, making it a pleasure to read for this alone. The main character Andy is not so easy to like at first, but one warms to him over the course of the novel despite his failings.
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LibraryThing member gentlespirit512
I felt such sympathy AND empathy for Andy in the hard place he found himself in. That wasn't what I expected. I thought I'd identify more with his wife, because she was the "innocent" one in the marriage. But there's always more than one side to the story, and so it is with Andy and Alice. Did she
Show More
know? Or at least suspect? I could never decide. Their marriage was as happy as one could expect it to be when one partner is withholding such a big part of himself.

I loved the relationship between Andy and his therapist Matt who was also a priest. I couldn't help but be angry with Matt because he left abruptly, though.

The story was the kind that I want to believe led to a happy ending. But I don't think anyone but Alice got that happy ending. I hope that all the things Andy went through helped him "find himself" one day.
Show Less

Awards

Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2011)
Stonewall Book Award (Honor Book — Literature — 2011)
TLA Gaybies (2011: Nominee best fiction)
ALA Over the Rainbow Book List (Selection — Fiction — 2011)

Language

Physical description

340 p.; 8.24 inches

ISBN

0758238789 / 9780758238788

Local notes

OCLC = 156
Google Books

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