Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Forge Books (2002), Edition: 1st, 192 pages
Description
Gerrold, a science fiction writer from California, adopts a son who has been classified as "unadoptable" due to his violent emotional outbursts resulting from abuse. Another side-effect of his turbulent early years is that he believes himself to be a Martian. Gerrold begins the long, involving work of trying to earn the acceptance of Dennis, a hyperactive eight-year-old who desperately wants a father's love, but is so insecure he feels he must be an alien. Gerrold's recounting of the first two years with Dennis ends with the climax of Dennis running away and waiting in a city park at night for the flying saucers to come and reclaim him. Funny, endearing, and at times, heartbreaking, this is a beautifully written testament to fatherhood. This book is semiautobiographical. Gerrold did adopt a son, but he heard about a boy who thought he was a Martian from another adoptive father.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member EowynA
Stunning book
This reads like a memoir; it's marketed as a novella. I suspect that means that the details are made up, but I feel that the emotional through-line is real. This book is the emotional journey of a man adopting a child, and of the child learning to trust the man. The Martian question is
This reads like a memoir; it's marketed as a novella. I suspect that means that the details are made up, but I feel that the emotional through-line is real. This book is the emotional journey of a man adopting a child, and of the child learning to trust the man. The Martian question is
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addressed as if it might be real, but this is not really a science fiction story. It is a story set in the science-fiction milieu within the real world. It is raw. It is real. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisCarey
This is a fictionalized account of David Gerrold's adoption of his son, at the time an eight-year-old boy who had been "in the system" since birth, and had averaged one placement a year over that time.
Having decided to adopt a child, and having cleared the first challenging hurdle of being approved
At one of these tables he sees a picture of Dennis, and makes the fateful decision that this boy--ADHD, possible fetal alcohol syndrome, considered "difficult to place"--is the boy he wants to adopt.
One of the first things that Dennis's case worker tells him is that Dennis thinks he's a Martian.
The process of adoption is slow and deliberate, starting with regular visits to Dennis's current group home, leading to day visits at Gerrold's house and outing together.
The next step is supposed to be an overnight visit, but just days before what should be their first overnight, Dennis's case worker calls David and tells him, essentially, that he has to decide Right Now, because the group home the boy is currently in is closing, and a new placement has to be found for him. And there are no new placements for this very difficult child; his next stop is an institution.
Gerrold has been delaying a formal decision, but he's committed, and after a few moments of hesitation he says so. The exciting, challenging, stressful, alarming, rewarding process of convincing a scared little boy so alienated he thinks he's from another planet that he has a home, a family, a place to belong has begun.
I found this a charming, touching story. Recommended.
I borrowed this book from the library.
Having decided to adopt a child, and having cleared the first challenging hurdle of being approved
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as a potential adopter, Gerrold attends an event that sounds rather like a setting he's more familiar with--a science fiction convention, but with a really, really different focus, both in programming and in the "dealers' room." It's not a dealers' room, of course, or a an exhibit hall, as those from different hobby or professional backgrounds might label it, but an opportunity to meet with representatives of various agencies, and find out something about the children they are trying to place.At one of these tables he sees a picture of Dennis, and makes the fateful decision that this boy--ADHD, possible fetal alcohol syndrome, considered "difficult to place"--is the boy he wants to adopt.
One of the first things that Dennis's case worker tells him is that Dennis thinks he's a Martian.
The process of adoption is slow and deliberate, starting with regular visits to Dennis's current group home, leading to day visits at Gerrold's house and outing together.
The next step is supposed to be an overnight visit, but just days before what should be their first overnight, Dennis's case worker calls David and tells him, essentially, that he has to decide Right Now, because the group home the boy is currently in is closing, and a new placement has to be found for him. And there are no new placements for this very difficult child; his next stop is an institution.
Gerrold has been delaying a formal decision, but he's committed, and after a few moments of hesitation he says so. The exciting, challenging, stressful, alarming, rewarding process of convincing a scared little boy so alienated he thinks he's from another planet that he has a home, a family, a place to belong has begun.
I found this a charming, touching story. Recommended.
I borrowed this book from the library.
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LibraryThing member indygo88
This was a quick, easy read -- fairly enjoyable. Read this for book club, in anticipation of the upcoming movie release. From the brief trailers I've seen, I expect that they've changed and/or added a lot for movie content. However, I'll look forward to it mostly to see John Cusack. :')
LibraryThing member iluvnooyawk
It was great. I was sorta skeptic at first because it's written by a sci-fi author, but I snuck to the back shelves of the library and read the first few pages when I was supposed to be working. I couldn't put it down because it's just written so well, so I brought it home.
I loved practically
I actually cried reading this book. There are probably only 3 or 4 tear-inducing books that I've read so far.
Hm... you should read it.
I loved practically
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everything about it: the dad's sarcastic sense of humor, how he expresses his complete and total love and devotion for his new son, the personal and philosophical insight, the fear I literally felt when he described the earthquake (he lives in CA), the Jewish mother allusions.... I actually cried reading this book. There are probably only 3 or 4 tear-inducing books that I've read so far.
Hm... you should read it.
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LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
This was a quick thoughtful read. I'd seen the film (because of John Cusack truthfully), but it drew me in to the point where I wanted to see the book. The book is both more frightening and comes across as more universal. In other words, the boy in the film is ONE of a kind. The boy in the book is
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one that, by admission, is comparable in needs and problems to many other children in need of a family. There are many similarities, but the film and book are two very separate works. For anyone interested in father child relationships, in adoption, or in a simple and emotionally worthwhile story to escape in for a while, I'd recommend this. One additional surprise from the text which I did not expect based on the movie was the on-and-off discussion of writing, and a writer's perception of the world. I do a great deal of writing myself, and I found Gerrold's observations at times fascinating, at times familiar to what I've thought myself. This isn't overall a book About writing, but anyone who writes might very well find this one worth reading for both style and occasional comments/tangents on the craft. My only criticism is that I wanted more. This was a very short book, and there easily could have been more depth on various points/situations, though the narrator and the child were both flawlessly portrayed, and given a perfect allowance of detail. I recommend it if it sounds at all interesting. If you're doubtful, you might curl up in a Barnes&Noble armchair with the book and a cup of coffee--you'll probably be done in a few hours. Show Less
LibraryThing member RachelfromSarasota
An interesting peek into David Gerrold's heart and mind, this is the true story of his first year with his adopted son. Gerrold, a single father (and the talented writer who wrote Star Trek's "The Trouble with Tribbles" original episode, as well as the War with the Chtorr series) and a gay man, had
It is instead an intense examination of Gerrold's struggles to determine just what kind of a father he wants to be. Written in Gerrold's trademark conversational style, the book is much more of an examination of Gerrold himself than it is of the daily strains of living with the demands of a special needs child.
And that may be my only real criticism of the work. While it was fascinating to peer into the mind of one of my favorite authors, at the end of the day I found the book strangely lacking in the very real clashes that take place between any child and its parents. I'm not an adoptive parent, but I am a single mom, and there were many times I found myself teetering on the edge of abusive behavior. And even when I overcame my early conditioning and learned to be the loving and supportive mother my kids deserved, the constant second-guessing I engage in about how much to say to my children and when to say it can be exhausting. Gerrold's account is strangely lacking in this area.
Oh, there are a few internal struggles, where he seems to half-heartedly confront the desire to chuck the adoption and go back to childless freedom -- but the issue is never really at stake. And for me, that gives the entire story a pretty bloodless feeling. My children, though not adopted, were all desperately wanted -- but I could write a tome the size of WAR AND PEACE about my struggles to appropriately parent each of them, and their struggles to live with me. At the end of the day, Gerrold's account, though interesting, just seems too facile.
To give the man credit, there are circumstances that might play into the seeming ease of his transition to full-time parenting, that I lacked. For one thing, Gerrold was older than I when he first entered fatherhood -- and he was a very successful author and teacher. His financial circumstances were certainly far removed from mine when I found myself a single mother -- and from long acquaintance with the truly economically disadvantaged, I can tell you that lack of money makes a real difference in a parent's peace of mind. Gerrold had also soaked up every piece of information he could on being a dad -- and though I had read a myriad of parenting guides in my time, when I was struggling with my children's issues there wasn't a lot of literature out there on their particular needs. Gerrold also had a strong local support system -- a close-knit and loving family and good friends who backed his decision to become a parent one hundred percent. My own family fairly defines the word dysfunctional, and my children and I had to become our own support system -- which became all too much like the worm Oubourous, devouring its own tail.
Still and all, when I closed the covers of this book, I felt that there was something missing in Gerrold's account. I had just read his LEAPING TO THE STARS, and found more seriously engaging introspection in the characters in his science fiction series of a family struggling to overcome its past than in his real life account of parenting his son. I just don't buy that parenting any child, much less a special needs one, is that easy. Gerrold, by his own account, seemed to have few internal doubts about his parenting skills, and to make almost no mistakes in dealing with his troubled boy. Oddly enough, I found that breeziness off-putting. Life is just not that simple, is it? I found much more internal self-examination when I went back and reread Gerrold's WAR WITH THE CHTORR books. It seems to me that those books, and his painstaking investigation of what it means to really be part of a family in the JUMPING OFF THE PLANET series, offers a more realistic glimpse of the real Gerrold than the too facile practically perfect dad presented in THE MARTIAN CHILD. It may be just me, struggling single mother of three, desperately struggling to keep my family afloat financially and emotionally, but my own story of being a parent is a good deal grittier than Gerrold's account.
Worth reading -- with a grain of salt.
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little difficulty with the legal barriers of our national adoption system. He seemed to have sailed through those with only the usual bureaucratic hassles. So this book is in no way a "how-to" guide for prospective adoptive parents.It is instead an intense examination of Gerrold's struggles to determine just what kind of a father he wants to be. Written in Gerrold's trademark conversational style, the book is much more of an examination of Gerrold himself than it is of the daily strains of living with the demands of a special needs child.
And that may be my only real criticism of the work. While it was fascinating to peer into the mind of one of my favorite authors, at the end of the day I found the book strangely lacking in the very real clashes that take place between any child and its parents. I'm not an adoptive parent, but I am a single mom, and there were many times I found myself teetering on the edge of abusive behavior. And even when I overcame my early conditioning and learned to be the loving and supportive mother my kids deserved, the constant second-guessing I engage in about how much to say to my children and when to say it can be exhausting. Gerrold's account is strangely lacking in this area.
Oh, there are a few internal struggles, where he seems to half-heartedly confront the desire to chuck the adoption and go back to childless freedom -- but the issue is never really at stake. And for me, that gives the entire story a pretty bloodless feeling. My children, though not adopted, were all desperately wanted -- but I could write a tome the size of WAR AND PEACE about my struggles to appropriately parent each of them, and their struggles to live with me. At the end of the day, Gerrold's account, though interesting, just seems too facile.
To give the man credit, there are circumstances that might play into the seeming ease of his transition to full-time parenting, that I lacked. For one thing, Gerrold was older than I when he first entered fatherhood -- and he was a very successful author and teacher. His financial circumstances were certainly far removed from mine when I found myself a single mother -- and from long acquaintance with the truly economically disadvantaged, I can tell you that lack of money makes a real difference in a parent's peace of mind. Gerrold had also soaked up every piece of information he could on being a dad -- and though I had read a myriad of parenting guides in my time, when I was struggling with my children's issues there wasn't a lot of literature out there on their particular needs. Gerrold also had a strong local support system -- a close-knit and loving family and good friends who backed his decision to become a parent one hundred percent. My own family fairly defines the word dysfunctional, and my children and I had to become our own support system -- which became all too much like the worm Oubourous, devouring its own tail.
Still and all, when I closed the covers of this book, I felt that there was something missing in Gerrold's account. I had just read his LEAPING TO THE STARS, and found more seriously engaging introspection in the characters in his science fiction series of a family struggling to overcome its past than in his real life account of parenting his son. I just don't buy that parenting any child, much less a special needs one, is that easy. Gerrold, by his own account, seemed to have few internal doubts about his parenting skills, and to make almost no mistakes in dealing with his troubled boy. Oddly enough, I found that breeziness off-putting. Life is just not that simple, is it? I found much more internal self-examination when I went back and reread Gerrold's WAR WITH THE CHTORR books. It seems to me that those books, and his painstaking investigation of what it means to really be part of a family in the JUMPING OFF THE PLANET series, offers a more realistic glimpse of the real Gerrold than the too facile practically perfect dad presented in THE MARTIAN CHILD. It may be just me, struggling single mother of three, desperately struggling to keep my family afloat financially and emotionally, but my own story of being a parent is a good deal grittier than Gerrold's account.
Worth reading -- with a grain of salt.
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LibraryThing member bookdads
When David decides to adopt a boy from foster care as a single father he’s prepared to deal with the boy’s ADHD, reactive attachment disorder and history of abuse … but he’s not expecting to hear that little Dennis also thinks that he’s actually a Martian. Fortunately for both of them,
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this David is David Gerrold, an accomplished science fiction writer best known for writing the Star Trek episode The Trouble with Tribbles, so a boy with a fantasy of being a Martian isn’t going to be a problem. But as the pressures and demands of fatherhood mount, soon David begins to wonder … maybe it isn’t just a fantasy after all. This is a true story about adopting from the foster care system and the process of trying to become a good father. Gerrold is wholly honest without being brutal, depicting not only the realities of foster care and adoption but also the emotional challenges that are an everyday part of fatherhood. Every father, regardless of how he is parenting, will recognize himself in the story of Gerrold’s journey. Show Less
LibraryThing member presto
Writer David Gerrold, a single gay man, plans to adopt a child, The Martian Child is his account of the lead up to the adoption and the couple of years following.
Th child he adopts, eight year old Dennis, believes he is a Martian, he also has behavioral problems on top of what one would expect of a
Gerrold's account, in addition to relating much of the process of adopting Dennis, provides glimpses of life with Dennis after the adoption and also provides an insight to much of the writers thoughts relating to the problems and pleasures over the period.
I would have liked to have read a lot more of the daily ups and downs of life, learned how Dennis was coping with school, and seen more of the consequences of some actions. However the result is an entertaining, positive, heartwarming and encouraging chronicle.
Th child he adopts, eight year old Dennis, believes he is a Martian, he also has behavioral problems on top of what one would expect of a
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child who has grown up being shunted from home to home.Gerrold's account, in addition to relating much of the process of adopting Dennis, provides glimpses of life with Dennis after the adoption and also provides an insight to much of the writers thoughts relating to the problems and pleasures over the period.
I would have liked to have read a lot more of the daily ups and downs of life, learned how Dennis was coping with school, and seen more of the consequences of some actions. However the result is an entertaining, positive, heartwarming and encouraging chronicle.
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LibraryThing member CareBear36
This is a cute book. I wanted to read it, because I loved the movie version of it so much. After reading it, however, I was a little disappointed in the movie for making David's character a widower when in actuality he was a gay man. I think the movie really missed out on some important plot pieces
One of the things I loved about Gerrold's novel is that he is so open about his sexual orientation, which I know can be hard for many people even in today's culture which is more accepting of people.
Overall, this is a cute collection of incidents during Gerrold's journey to adopt a son. At times, it was a little dull because it is more an account of events than it is a plot-driven piece, but for the most part it was a nice read.
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by excluding this. One of the things I loved about Gerrold's novel is that he is so open about his sexual orientation, which I know can be hard for many people even in today's culture which is more accepting of people.
Overall, this is a cute collection of incidents during Gerrold's journey to adopt a son. At times, it was a little dull because it is more an account of events than it is a plot-driven piece, but for the most part it was a nice read.
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LibraryThing member lunule
Disappointing. The author's over-analysis of every situation was irritating and took away from the flow of the story.
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
A partially autobiographical story about Gerrold adopting a young boy who
believes that he is literally a Martian.
believes that he is literally a Martian.
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Reads like a memoir - no reason to believe that everything is not basically true. Sure, the success of this new little family is achieved with almost unbelievable facility, but it's a short sweet happy book and the bad stuff could just have been omitted for brevity. Still, Gerrold calls it a
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novel, so I'll call it the perfect 'beach read.' I read it in just a a couple of hours sitting on my apartment balcony enjoying the summer breeze. Show Less
LibraryThing member jannid
a beautiful story of transformation and the birth of a father. David Gerrold ushers us through the story of how he adopted a wonderful little boy that told everyone he was a Martian. A must read. Compassionate, smart, and witty, Gerrold was the perfect man for the job.
LibraryThing member ennuiprayer
"Today, I recognize that being human is the greatest adventure of all. And being a parent is the best part of that adventure," David Gerrold writes in the afterward of the Kindle edition of The Martian Child - an autobiographical piece about his adoptive son. "[A]nyone who hasn't experienced that
I caught the film adaptation Thursday morning, staying up until three to watch it - after baking pies all Wednesday night for Thanksgiving, I needed some quiet time with the TV and my eyes were too heavy for book reading. The film stars John Cusack as science fiction writer David Gordon - the straight version of David Gerrold, the author of the novelette turned novel turned film (not really sure which order that falls in, though). And like with most movies I fall in love with, I instantly wonder whether or not there was a book before hand. Even before the film was rolling its credits, I had downloaded the novelette to my Kindle - one can never be sure if you'll like the writer's style, so I opted for the novelette rather than the novel. The fact that it was under $4 also didn't hurt.
David Gerrold's writer, as I learned, is marvelous. There's a certain wit that most writers lack these days - whatever happened to them, I wonder. The story's a great, short read and I do look forward to purchasing the novel the moment I have placed this story behind me - if it's too familiar, I tend to lose interest in a story. Also, I'd want a hard copy of the book so I can lug it around to show people what I'm reading.
As a soon-to-be father, I feel that I can relate - sort of. Aren't all children aliens to new parents? And while I hope my little bundle of joy doesn't grow up to think she's a Martian, I do hope she is blessed with such a wonderful imagination, one that puts my childhood antics to shame.
It's a must read for all parents, new, old and adoptive. And I hope to learn as much from my child that David Gerrold learned from his.
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hasn't finished the job of learning how to be human."I caught the film adaptation Thursday morning, staying up until three to watch it - after baking pies all Wednesday night for Thanksgiving, I needed some quiet time with the TV and my eyes were too heavy for book reading. The film stars John Cusack as science fiction writer David Gordon - the straight version of David Gerrold, the author of the novelette turned novel turned film (not really sure which order that falls in, though). And like with most movies I fall in love with, I instantly wonder whether or not there was a book before hand. Even before the film was rolling its credits, I had downloaded the novelette to my Kindle - one can never be sure if you'll like the writer's style, so I opted for the novelette rather than the novel. The fact that it was under $4 also didn't hurt.
David Gerrold's writer, as I learned, is marvelous. There's a certain wit that most writers lack these days - whatever happened to them, I wonder. The story's a great, short read and I do look forward to purchasing the novel the moment I have placed this story behind me - if it's too familiar, I tend to lose interest in a story. Also, I'd want a hard copy of the book so I can lug it around to show people what I'm reading.
As a soon-to-be father, I feel that I can relate - sort of. Aren't all children aliens to new parents? And while I hope my little bundle of joy doesn't grow up to think she's a Martian, I do hope she is blessed with such a wonderful imagination, one that puts my childhood antics to shame.
It's a must read for all parents, new, old and adoptive. And I hope to learn as much from my child that David Gerrold learned from his.
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Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 2002)
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0765303116 / 9780765303110