La famille Lament

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Meet the Laments—a quirky, globetrotting family in George Hagen’s debut novel. Howard, an engineer with dreams of irrigating the Sahara, lives by the motto “Laments move!” His spirited wife, Julia, navigates her husband’s wanderlust while grappling with her own ambitions. They are joined by Will, a boy given to them after a maternity ward mishap, who grows up in a family constantly on the move. As they travel from continent to continent, questions arise about where they truly belong. In Bahrain, Howard works for an oil company while young Will makes his first friend, only to be uprooted again due to Julia’s complicated friendship with the alluring Trixie Howitzer. In Northern Rhodesia, Will experiences the chaos of colonial life, falling for a vain gardener’s daughter, until their lives are disrupted by their neighbor, Major Buck Quinn, who opposes black self-rule. Seeking a more civilized existence, the Laments set sail for England, where Will faces the harsh realities of school and a society obsessed with the Blitz. Just as he adapts to British culture, the family relocates to New Jersey, where they encounter both crises and opportunities. The Laments, undeniably eccentric yet relatable, embody the universal experience of family life—growing up, moving on, and the inevitable laments that accompany love and loss. Through their journey, Hagen captures the humor and tragedy of familial bonds.