Atticus

Rancher Atticus Cody doesn't understand his youngest son, Scott, but he loves him anyway. 40-year-old Scott is a troubled man who never really grew up. He suffers from some form of mental illness (probably bipolar disorder), and there is a hint of past tragedy that resulted in the death of Scott's mother/Atticus's wife. Although Atticus seems to have forgiven Scott (if he ever held it against him to begin with), Scott doesn't seem to have forgiven himself. Not long after Scott's Christmas visit, Atticus receives a call from Mexico, where Scott has been living. Scott has killed himself, and Atticus must go to Mexico to settle his estate. As Atticus examines the remnants of Scott's life and learns the details of his death, he begins to show more see incongruities between what he hears and what he observes. The evidence points to murder rather than suicide, and Atticus won't leave until his questions have been answered.

This novel is a modern retelling of the parable of the Prodigal Son. Catholic religious themes run throughout the book. Scott lived in a town called Resurrección, a name that also carries religious symbolism. The father in the Prodigal Son symbolizes God, and Atticus is likened to God in a conversation in the novel. Most readers will also associate him with Atticus Finch, the father in To Kill a Mockingbird. When Atticus is questioned about this in the novel, he replies that “Up until the sixties I had the name to myself.” While that may be true in the fictional universe of the novel, in the world of literature Atticus Finch preceded Atticus Cody by several decades. Since Atticus is such an unusual name, most readers wouldn't have needed the lines drawn for them to make that connection. It's tempting to read this as a crime novel since murder is involved, but when read through that lens it peaks too early. It's better to read it as the literary fiction it is. show less

From the book jacket: Ron Hansen’s new novel opens in winter [in] Colorado, where rancher Atticus Cody receives an unexpected visit from his wayward young son. An artist and wanderer, Scott has recently settled into a life of heavy drinking and recklessness among expatriates and Mexicans in the little town of Resurreccion on the Caribbean coast. Weeks later, Atticus himself goes down to Mexico to recover the body of his son, thinking he has committed suicide. Puzzled by what he finds, he begins to suspect that Scott has been murdered.

My reactions
In many ways this story echoes the parable of the Prodigal Son from the bible. While there is certainly a mystery at its core, the novel is more about the father-son relationship: the show more father’s fierce and unfaltering love for his son, the son’s need to atone for past mistakes and despair at feeling unable to make amends, and the failure of both of them to openly communicate and understand one another.

The plot has several twists and turns that kept me intrigued and turning pages. But the star of the novel, to me, was the writing and the exploration of these characters and their motivations. I was completely engrossed in their story, and wanted to cheer at the end. show less

A Colorado rancher receives word that his rakehell younger son has committed suicide in Mexico, and sets out to claim the body and bring it home for burial. But he quickly discovers that things in Mexico are not quite what they seem to be.

Up to this point, the novel seems a pretty run-of-the-mill tale of a grieving man sussing out the oddities of a loved one's death, refusing to believe the official story, and trying to determine what really happened.

Then Hansen pulls the rug out from under the reader in the last chapter and the story becomes something else entirely.

A modern retelling of The prodigal son. Hansen is a gifted author, with colorful descriptions of scenery, characters of depth, solid plotting, and sparse but meaningful dialogue. Although this has aspects of a mystery, it really is not your average gum shoe type of book. It's more literary fiction with a mystery twist.

Atticus is a father determined to pursue his son through life and death. He truly loves his son, recognizes his son's sins, yet still pursues him. Unconditional love.

Scott is 40 years old and still disappointing himself and his father, Atticus. A promising artist who is at the mercy of his Bipolar Disease. Scott uses his trust fund to evade responsibility by living the life of an expat in Mexico. When Atticus gets the call from Scott's friend, Renata, that he has committed suicide, Atticus leaves his Colorado ranch for Mexico to learn as much as he can about his son's last days.

This is an intense page-turner about a father's unflagging love for his son and the forgiveness that comes out of that love. I recommend this literary mystery where persistence in the face of grief unravels the truth.

Atticus. Ron Hansen. 1996. When he is notified that his younger son has killed himself in Mexico, Atticus Cody goes to Resurreccion bring Scott’s body back home. Scott was the “difficult” son who had been in and out of mental hospital but, Atticus’ love for his son never waivers. As Atticus searches for answers to Scott’s suicide, the story of Scott’s tortured life is revealed. This is a beautiful retelling of the parable of the prodigal son. I have also read two other books by Hansen: Mariette in Ecstasy (the story of a nun with a stigmata) and Exiles (an account of a ship wreck in which 5 nuns were killed that led Gerard Manley Hopkins to write “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Hansen’s style reminds me of Richard Russo.

I bought this book simply because of the title. Atticus Finch has always been stuck in the back of my head ever since being forced to read To Kill A Mockingbird in the 6th grade.
The story is ok. Some parts sneak up on you, which is usually good. But it may be becuase you don't find yourself fully vested and may simply not care what's going on.
I did finish it with no problem and I never really hit a slow part or anything. So it can't be that bad, right?
Maybe I was just hoping it was going to be something it wasn't.
This is why I now read "blurbs" with a more skeptical eye and am relying on recommenations from LibraryThingers more and more!