See the Child

3.3/5 ( ratings)

What is more devastating than the death of a child? When Harry, the local cop, knocks on Paul Unger's door early one morning to give him the grim news -- that his son, Stephen, has been found drowned -- Paul descends into a grief that carries him to a dark and unfamiliar place. "See the Child" is an extraordinary exploration of love and loss: between parent and child, man and woman, grandfather and grandchild. Paul Unger has a comfortable life, but it starts to unravel when his son becomes involved with a provocative young woman, Nicole. Soon his world is overturned, Stephen is gone, and he is left to question his own role in the death. When, several years later, Nicole returns to town with a child who might be Paul's grandson, Paul imagines in both of them a path back to his son.

Set in small-town Manitoba and reaching to Montana and back, "See the Child" is a haunting and beautifully rendered observation of sorrow. Acclaimed Canadian novelist David Bergen brings to his landscapes a series of indelible portraits: Paul's wife, Lise, who tries to understand why he must leave her; Harry, who desires Lise but knows he cannot keep her; Sky, the child who seems to bear the imprint of the dead Stephen; Wyatt, the gun-toting lumberjack who wants Nicole and Sky; and Paul, a man who must first forgive himself before he can go forward with his life.

Written with tenderness, eloquence, and an exquisite sensuality, "See the Child" explores the healing power of time and the nature of love.