Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Boy from the North Country by Sam Sussman.

This book was interesting, because after reading it, and then reading the acknowledgments, it was clear that this story essentially WAS the story of the author. However, he writes it as a piece of fiction, with the main character given a different name. Perhaps it was to create some distance between himself and a story that must have caused him so much pain.

I believe this story to be a love story to his mother, being told by 26 year old Evan, a man who's been told his whole life that he looks like Bob Dylan, and given his mom's rich history, might actually be his son. During Evan's stay with his mom, he learns more about her life life, his legacy, and his undying love for her. It's as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. I enjoyed every page.

And yes, Sam Sussman looks A LOT like Bob Dylan.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young man returns home to care for his mother after she receives a cancer diagnosis.

Review of Boy from the North Country by Sam Sussman

Sam Sussman’s debut novel, Boy from the North Country, is clearly a deeply personal work—one shaped by grief, memory, and the aching desire to understand a parent more fully before it’s too late. The premise is compelling: a son returns home to his dying mother and uncovers long-held secrets about her past, including a possible romantic connection to Bob Dylan and the truth of his own origins. At its core, this is a story about the bond between mother and son, the fragility of life, and the search for identity.

It’s evident that writing this novel was a cathartic experience for Sussman, particularly as he processed the loss of his own mother. That emotional depth does come through in places, especially in the tender moments between Evan and June as her health declines. Unfortunately, the power of those scenes is often diluted by a tendency toward repetition and overly graphic detail.

Certain descriptions—like repeated mentions of June’s auburn hair, the physical deterioration of her body, and the narrator’s own unwashed state—felt unnecessarily excessive and, at times, distracting. The rawness may have been intended to evoke intimacy or realism, but instead, it bordered on discomfort without adding much emotional or narrative weight. Some moments, like detailed references to body odor or bodily functions, seemed more jarring than poignant.

Structurally, the novel also struggles to maintain cohesion. The story occasionally veers off into historical and cultural commentary—particularly about Jewish history—that, while potentially interesting on their own, felt shoehorned in rather than organically woven into the narrative. These digressions disrupted the emotional arc and made the story feel scattered.

Ultimately, while Boy from the North Country offers moments of heartfelt reflection and explores meaningful themes of family, identity, and loss, it is hampered by uneven pacing, overindulgent prose, and disjointed storytelling. Sussman clearly has a story worth telling, and I respect the vulnerability it took to tell it—but this debut may have benefitted from a firmer editorial hand.