From the Bookshelf of Mineola Library's 2012 FALL Reading Challenge…

The Lost Language of Cranes

David Leavitt

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May 31, 2009 Suzanne Moore rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-2006, 1001-2008, nominations-to-sort, rainbow, fall-challenge-picks

I guess this book can be considered controversial because it deals with homosexuality and “coming out.” Because exposing your sexual preferences when you are in the minority is so taboo, there is bound to be a controversy. The story revolves around a family and the secrets kept by father and son. Philip, the 25 yr-old son, decides to confess his love for another man to his parents. This is a brave act, because he doesn’t know how they will react to the news. But he is tired of hiding his lifesty I guess this book can be considered controversial because it deals with homosexuality and “coming out.” Because exposing your sexual preferences when you are in the minority is so taboo, there is bound to be a controversy. The story revolves around a family and the secrets kept by father and son. Philip, the 25 yr-old son, decides to confess his love for another man to his parents. This is a brave act, because he doesn’t know how they will react to the news. But he is tired of hiding his lifestyle and wants to be honest about who he really is. His admission of being gay brings out the suppressed tendencies of his father who has been hiding his true feelings towards men all his life. I felt most sorry for Rose, the wife and mother who is confronted with the news about the two men in her life. She feels betrayal from her husband, Owen, and has trouble accepting her son’s lifestyle. It certainly was a shock at first, but hindsight gave her clues all along, only she must have been in denial, because she didn’t want to face the truth.

Leavitt’s title, “The Lost Language of Cranes,” is alluded to in one very short chapter when Jerene, a lesbian roommate of Philip’s lover Eliot discusses her dissertation on languages. She reviews a case of an infant that is neglected and cries constantly. Until one day the crying stops when the child notices several cranes at work in a construction zone across the street. As long as the child’s crib is near the window where the sound and movement of the cranes can be seen and heard, the baby is happy. When the cranes fall silent during off hours or the shade is drawn, the crying resumes. Metaphorically I think the cranes represent the peace that came to Philip and Owen when they could live the life they felt drawn to without shame or secretiveness. Owen cried for days, like the baby, after Philip broke the news of his homosexuality. He finally ends the turmoil in his soul when he admits to his wife and son that he has been hiding his true feelings all of his life. In the end it was Rose who lost communication with both her husband and son. This book is full of raw emotions and left me sad for the characters … even in the end the sadness, though sprinkled with hope, didn’t go away. I did realize that for everyone, there certainly is the need for human acceptance.
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