My Mother's Son, the meticulously crafted debut novel from David Hirshberg, is a story told by a radio raconteur revisiting his past in post-World War II Boston, the playground and battleground for two brothers whose lives are transformed by discoveries they never could have imagined. From the opening line of the book, ‘When you're a kid, they don't always tell you the truth,’ the stage is set for this riveting coming-of-age story that plays out against the backdrop of the Korean War, the aftermath of the Holocaust, the polio epidemic, the relocation of a baseball team, and the shenanigans of politicians and businessmen. Hirshberg deftly weaves together events, characters, and clues and creates a rich tapestry of betrayal, persecution, death, loyalty, and unconditional love that resonates with today's America.
My Mother’s Son
David Hirshberg, educated at Dartmouth College, and the University of Pennsylvania, is a very successful entrepreneur—a former CEO and Chairman of the Board of several major Life Sciences companies--who writes under a pseudonym. He is an historical fiction writer who writes about the American Jewish experience. His first novel, My Mother’s Son published in 2018 won nine awards and reviewers compared his writing to Michael Chabon and Saul Bellow
“Hirshberg’s debut novel packs both emotional punch and a vivid portrait of Jewish American life on post-WWII Boston…. Readers will find connections here to Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and to Saul Bellow’s classic, The Adventures of Augie March.” – Booklist, starred review “This amazing mosaic of fact and fiction will hold readers in its grip from the first to last page.” - Library Journal, starred review “This colorful and complex portrait of a 1950s Jewish family is warm and nostalgic yet grounded by deep history…. Th narrative shifts from the past to the present creating colorful and complex portrait of a family from their immigration to their assimilation and eventual successes.” - Foreword Reviews “A moving coming-of-age story spiced with dark family secrets, historical references, dirty politics, and poignant immigrants’ tales…. This journey from innocence to acceptance is satisfying, rich, and reflective. - Renita Last, Jewish Book Council “A story of a family’s life in Jewish Boston and grows as big as a century. Fascism lurks. Polio carries off its prey. Only-in-Boston characters pop up…. Time rushes in only to roll back as the stories within stories reveal truths not only about one family and one city, but about America in the 1950s and, by extension, today.” - Paul Goldberg, author of The Yid “A richly sprawling and singular Jewish-American saga. It echoes with an unwashed Boston brogue and a heart that beats with a Holocaust past. And it entertains with wit, humor, and secrets both dark and luminously incandescent.” - Thane Rosenbaum, author of The Golems of Gotham and Second Hand Smoke “This provocative novel is the colorful description of life as seen through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Joel, and at the same time, a telling and re-telling that allows adult Joel to process and decipher the truths and richness of all that transpires. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.” - Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, author of Eden: A Novel