The Annunciations of Hank Myerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar

Scott Muskin
Hooded Friar Press (2009)
ISBN 9780981760926
Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (1/09)


“The Annunciations of Hank Myerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar” is a long, somewhat meandering narration of mama’s boy, Hank Myerson, and his search for his own soul. He is a self-described mama’s boy, a scholar who has turned into a slacker who, rather that work towards his potential, is living the life as a proofreader and accepting contentment instead of happiness. He is a sad, pathetic person whose wife is more of a man than he is.  She rules every aspect of their lives and even after she confesses an affair, she manages to put the blame on him and forces him to live with the guilt.  As a way of hiding from reality, he has immersed himself completely into the household of his brother and his wife and this immersion becomes even more apparent after the affair is revealed. He harbors a not-so-secret love for his brother’s wife and that love is consummated one afternoon.  She writes it off as a mistake, he is crushed, and thus begins Hank’s search for himself.

Hank picks up and moves to Montana, forming a quiet, solitary life there as he eats his way through his feelings.  His family doesn’t understand why he won’t come back, and Hank finds himself defending his actions to them time and time again. He struggles with the guilt of sleeping with his sister-in-law, also while dealing with his lifelong feeling of inferiority.  His bother is the “prodigal son,” the one to whom everything comes naturally and who has made a success of himself.  Hank is a failure, a scholar with nothing to show for it.  Now that he is truly alone, Hank starts to come to terms with who he is and what he needs to do in order to be able to live with himself.

For me, “The Annunciations of Hank Myerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar” by Scott Muskin was too long, too slow and overly detailed.  The main character was pathetic and most secondary characters were just as unlikable.  More than that, I was unable to relate to them.  While I do enjoy reading a literary work that forces the examination of human nature and the choices we all make, it is imperative for the reader to be able to relate to the characters and that just did not happen for me here.  Mr. Muskin has true potential, but he needs to have a bit more control over his writing rather than letting it control him.

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