How I Found My Brother By Charles Baxter

This review was written by Bojana Visic, 16, from Valjevo, Yugoslavia

HOW I FOUND MY BROTHER can be read in Annual Four: Short stories by Men, Graywolf Press, 1988

The main character is Andy Harris who was separated from his biological mother when he was four months old. He was adopted by the Harris family and all he has from his mother is a couple of pictures. He went to the Navy and when he was discharged, he married Linda Norton and a year later he got a son. But then he started drinking so his wife left him. Then, one day while he was working, the telephone rang. It was a man who claimed to be his brother. They had the same mother who gave him for adoption too. He wanted to meet Andy, so they arranged a meeting in a café the next day. Andy felt strange. He always dreamed of meeting someone from his real family, but this surprised him. They met in the café and found out they looked alike. After that they played softball, although Andy hated it. The trouble began when Kurt, the other brother, ordered a Scotch, although he knew that Andy had drinking problems, so Andy hit him. Even though Andy thought that Kurt would be angry and they wouldn't see each other again, their relationship became much better, they talked and, although they didn't share the same interests, they became really close. Kurt even called Andy's wife and he planned a lot of happy endings. I think that this story is very humanely written, and you can have a feeling that this situation could happen anywhere in the world. The characters are very real. The story doesn't have many turnovers, but it is still very dramatic and exciting.

Charles Baxter is the author of First light, Through the safety net, Harmony of the World. He teaches at Wayne State University.