Product Description

Tommy and Nathan Bishop are as different as two brothers can be. Carefree and careless, Tommy is the golden boy who takes men into his bed with a seductive smile and turns them out just as quickly. No one can resist him - and no one can control him, either. That salient point certainly isn't lost on his brother. Nathan is all about control. At thirty-one, he is as dark and complicated as Tommy is light and easy, and he is bitter beyond his years. While Tommy left for the excitement of New York City, Nathan has stayed behind, teaching high school English in their provincial hometown, surrounded by the reminders of their ruined family history and the legacy of anger that runs through him like a scar. Now, Tommy has come home to the family cottage by the sea for the summer, bringing his unstable, sexual powder keg of an entourage - and the distant echoes of his family's tumultuous past - with him. Tommy and his lover Philip are teetering on the brink of disaster, while their married friends, Camille and Kyle, perfect their steps in a dance of denial, each partner pulling Nathan deeper into the fray. And when one of Nathan's troubled students, Simon, begins visiting the house, the slow fuse is lit on a highly combustible mix. During a heady two-week party filled with drunken revelations, bitter jealousies, caustic jabs, and tender reconciliations, Tommy and Nathan will confront the legacy of their twisted family history - the angry, abusive father and the tragic death of their mother - and finally, to the one secret that has shaped their entire lives. It is a summer that will challenge everything Nathan remembers and unravel Tommy's carefully constructed facade, drawing them both unwittingly into a drama with echoes of the past...one with unforeseen and very dangerous consequences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #267634 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Devoted brothers
Nathan are Tommy are brothers, but totally different, Tommy carefree and adored by all, while Nathan is the complete opposite; yet they are very close and dearly love one another, pulled close together by the belligerent and abusive behaviour of their father, and the tragic loss of their mother. They also share a dark secret that over shadows their lives.
Tommy visits his brother at the family cottage by the sea, where Nathan now lives alone. Accompanying Tommy are his current boyfriend Philip, and their married friends Camille and Kyle. Camille and Kyle enjoy an uncertain marriage, Kyle not being as straight as he thinks, and all the male company is a bit too much for him. Then there is innocent fifteen year old Simon, one of Nathan's remedial students, who becomes a regular visitor; and so the seeds of trouble are sown. It all starts out as a rather chaotic but carefree farce, with bickering, jealousy and love, until the attractions of Simon become too much for Tommy. When the trouble all blows up, disaster inevitably follows.
Bart Yates very quickly establishes his characters, and one is drawn in right form the start. The characters are appealing and individual, especially adorable are Tommy and young Simon. The writing flows easily, is witty and with occasional asides to the reader. It is a funny, but very moving story. There was a large lump in my throat throughout the last two chapters, and before the end I was fighting back the tears.

One for the bookshelf
Hot on the heels of 'Leave Myself Behind', 'The Brothers Bishop' is another triumph for Bart Yates. The Amazon synopsis is sufficiently comprehensive that no more need be revealed about the plot. Suffice to say that it is a powerful tale focusing on the bond between two brothers - and the consequences thereof for all those around them - and deals with themes as old as civilisation itself: love, hatred, jealousy, anger and betrayal. Indeed, the story could be biblical or Shakespearean for the strident emotions and brutal repercussions that accompany each major event.

Although the characterisation is strong for all the players, inevitably the secondary characters fade into the background in order to strengthen and isolate the relationship between the two principals. It is also worth remembering that the tale is narrated almost entirely from the point of view of one of the brothers, who freely acknowledges that his interpretation of the past is suspect due to the suppression of certain events and the enhancement of others in his mind. There is consequently the potential for the reader to disagree with certain moral conclusions arrived at by the narrator (as this reviewer did). While it would have been interesting to see events from the other brother's perspective, unlike the vast majority of powerful novels this one's strength lies less in the individual characters than in the cumulative relationships and underlying themes/emotions explored. And if it turns out that you agree or disagree with the narrator, then at least you are actively engaged with the novel.

Ultimately, this a fascinating and unpredictable page-turner. It deals with powerful, quintessential human emotions, and is strengthened by the layers of sharp humour, eroticism and tenderness that form part of the seamless web. Buy this excellent work; it's definitely one for the bookshelf.

Didn't want it to end
I came across this book by chance and enjoyed it enormously. An amazing exploration of family relationships and the destructive power of anger and guilt and bitterness. Fantastic - I will be buying anything else this guy's written!