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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Significant historical violence; Comanche raids, frontier warfare, and family violence are depicted graphically
Language
Some
Some strong language
Sexual Content
Some
Adult content
Substance Use
Barely any
Period alcohol use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Profound psychological themes around the moral cost of conquest and the inheritance of violence
What this book is about
The Son follows the McCullough family of Texas across 150 years — beginning with Eli, taken captive by Comanches in 1849 and raised as a warrior; through his son Peter, whose diary records the family's violence and moral compromises; to Eli's great-granddaughter Jeannie in the 20th century. Philipp Meyer's Pulitzer finalist is brutal and honest about the violence at the foundation of American Western expansion.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Graphic historical violence including raids and warfare
Adult content
Morally complex characters
Reader Verification
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