HALF THE WAY HOME: A Memoir of Father and Son

by Adam Hochschild ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1986

The subtle and often brilliant observations here transcend the obvious conflict between the wealthy industrialist father and his son, a radical journalist. The child who found his father terrifying, distant, irrefutable, crushingly formal and silent, discovers as a man his father's weakness, and so bridges the generational chasm to find that his father's heart beats within him. The author was an anti-war activist, a writer for Ramparts, and co-founder of Mother Jones magazine. His father was an extravagantly rich board chairman, whose affluence was built upon mineral holdings throughout the world. However, the division was not so simple. Harold Hochschild counted himself a liberal democrat and was an early opponent of the war in Viet Nam, a supporter of Communist China, at times a conservationist. He was on Nixon's famous enemies list, and, like many, counted it an honor. Thus there were no violent arguments or severance of ties as young Adam made his own political choices. The seat of the family is their upstate New York retreat, Eagle Nest. To the author it is a place at once irresistible and unforgivable. It is made alive by the little rituals that grated upon him--like getting the beer--and the characters who made it a joy--like Boris Sergievsky, who is described as Tom Jones, suddenly landed in a Henry James novel. It is here that the search for his father begins and ends. The elder Hochschild was obsessively generous and hoarded the thousands of letters of thanks he received for his hospitality and philantropy. His son finds his behavior inscrutable, until he discovers a synthesizing letter found among his father's papers. In it his father discusses the character of American Jews. It becomes clear that his life's ideal essentially was to be everything that a stereotypical Jew was not: generous, demure, strait-laced, uncomplaining. The author recalls that his greatest crime as a child was talking too much at the dinner table. With this vulnerability--however prejudiced--his father's character becomes whole, understandable, even forgivable. This is a fine entry to an already rich genre. Many of the chapters have the resonance of short stories, setting small, unforgettable scenes, and capping them with a final sentence that subtly and remarkably underscores their ironies.

Pub Date: June 1, 1986

ISBN: 061843920X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION