I bought this at an airport after reading the reviews on the back cover and was looking forward to a touching story about a man and his cradle-to-adult relationship with his son.Instead, it is about a self-centered guy who cannot even say "I'm sorry" to his wife after cheating on her and then he doesn't understand why she doesn't want anything to do with her. Now he is forced to raise the child, but the book is not about his relationship with the boy, but about the man's wandering through life, and the boy happens to be there.I read this book on one leg of a flight and left it in the seat pocket. It is not something worth keeping; now I wander why I left it to depress someone else.

I have never read such a cliched, self pitying attempt before. Every soap opera turn takes place, right down to the happy-ever-after-reunion-tagged-on-ending. ... This book was annoying. Avoid it. Read something worthwhile and not so contrived.

It's sentimental twaddle, competently written (for a hack journalist) but with no imagination and no great craft. Not only isn't it the 'thinking man's Kramer v Kramer', it's a direct steal from that film (check out the improbable kid falling off his bike scene, not to mention the entire set-up). It tries to appropriate some of the Nick Hornby bloke-in-his-thirties feeling but comes up short because Parsons has neither the wit nor the imagination of a Hornby. The characters are sketchy - either stereotypes (the bluff old father with the heart of gold)or just not thought through (the protagonist's wife). Two stars because undemanding souls who need an airport read may find it relatively unoffensive.

Why more people haven't caught on to this book is beyond me. The parent of two boys, I read this when it first came out and just finished it again. It is one of a very few books that I will keep and read again later. Tony Parsons writes personally, his story stirs and inspires and helps me to see myself better. He clearly is one of the mosted gifted storytellers of our time. Don't miss out on meeting Harry Silver!

Once in a while, a novel comes that brings with it a clear story showing what is really important in life...This is one of them.Here you will find what mature love feels like, what real sacrifices are...but most of all the fact that in life the first time might not be the right one...I would have added a bit more life into some of the characters and that is the only reason I am giving it 4 stars.Enjoy a good book!

... The main character cheats on his wife, and then, not only proceeds to redeem himself by making it out to be HER fault, but he also trys to paint her as an unfit mother. As a single dad, he portrays himself as a saint, so much better at parenting than anyone else on the face of the earth, single or married, has ever been. Must be nice to be a single parent and have to work only when you feel like it...