Synopses & Reviews
“So much of how it was started was when that cop got out and came up to me. But I didn’t know all this when it first happened. I guess you never do. I didn’t know there would ever be a Leonard, or that this man would be his father, or that anybody would have to die. I didn’t know where all this would take me at the time….”For five years Pearl has managed to keep the past from catching up to her and her bright, frail five-year-old son. Life has given her every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbor, Mitch, with watching Leonard while she goes to work. Then one day Pearl drops her son off—and never returns.
Pearl, Mitch, and Leonard each have a story to tell. As their lives unfold, profound questions emerge about the nature of love and family. Is it possible to love the people who can’t always be there for us? The answers will surprise and move you. But this extraordinary novel’s richest reward is watching Mitch and Leonard grow up together, through the power and the magic of the human heart.
Review
"The simplicity of prose might indicate nothing more than purity of heart....What you feel about Love in the Present Tense...will depend entirely on who you are. Don't be so quick to dismiss this. Love can sucker-punch anybody, anytime." Washington Post
Review
"The author of Pay It Forward proves she has some staying power with this sad-funny love triangle of neighbors and caregivers who alternately tell their story over the course of 25 years....Sparked with humanity and a lively vernacular." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Hyde tells a rich and engaging story through the voices of three extraordinary people." Booklist
Review
"The story dishes out plenty of sentiment about loyalty, faith and family. If you love Pay It Forward, The Notebook and The Five People You'll Meet in Heaven, this novel will envelop you like a fuzzy blanket." USA Today
Synopsis
For five years Pearl has managed to keep the past from catching up to her and her bright, frail five-year-old son. Life has given her every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbor Mitch with watching Leonard while she goes off to work. Then one day Pearl drops her son off…and never returns.
They are an unlikely pair: Mitch is a young, unattached business owner, and Leonard is a precocious, five-year-old boy. But together they must find a way to move forward in the wake of Pearls unexplained disappearance. Their bond as parent and child shifts and endures, even as Mitch must eventually surrender Leonard to a two-parent home.
Is it possible to love the people who cant always be there for us? The answers will surprise and move you. As their lives unfold, profound questions emerge about the nature of love and family. Ultimately, this novels richest reward is watching Mitch and Leonard grow up together, through the power and the magic of the human heart.
About the Author
Catherine Ryan Hyde, an acclaimed novelist and award-winning short-story writer, is the author of the story collection Earthquake Weather and of the novels Funerals for Horses, Electric God, and Pay It Forward, which was named an ALA Book of the Year and made into a feature film. She lives in Cambia, California.
Reading Group Guide
For five years Pearl has managed to keep the past from catching up to her and her bright, frail five-year-old son, Leonard. Life has given her every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbor, Mitch, with watching Leonard while she goes off to work. Then one day Pearl drops her son off—and never returns.
Pearl, Mitch, and Leonard each have a story to tell. As their lives unfold, profound questions emerge about the nature of love and family. Is it possible to love the people who can’t always be there for us? The answers will surprise and move you. But this extraordinary novel’s richest reward is watching Mitch and Leonard grow up together, through the power and the magic of the human heart.
1. If Leonard had been born with good health and perfect vision, to what extent do you feel his life would have been different and why?
2. Why do you think Pearl places such a value on cleanliness?
3. If you had been in Mitch’s position, and didn’t believe Leonard’s assertion that Pearl was still “with him,” would you want to help Leonard face the truth, or would you consider it kinder to allow him that delusion?
4. Do you think Leonard’s “forever love” is possible in a romantic involvement? Or do you feel that such a totally selfless love is reserved for parental situations or other more “pure” devotion?
5. Because of the three separate character viewpoints, you knew what Mitch and Leonard initially didn’t: Pearl’s fate. If you had not seen this through her eyes, what would you have believed?
6. What do you think Leonard is looking for in his scrapes with death?
7. Have you ever felt an ongoing emotional connection with a loved one after his or her death?
8. Mitch’s home environment was not ideally stable, but Leonard certainly didn’t lack love in Mitch’s care. Do you agree with Leonard’s adoption into a two-parent home?
9. Harry was cast in a fairly negative light through most of the book, as seen through Mitch’s eyes. Did you feel any empathy for him and his situation before Mitch did? If not, why do you think that was the case?
10. What do you think Barb means when she says of her long-standing relationship with Mitch “Maybe it’s the stress that holds it together”?
11. Why do you think Mitch didn’t fight back against Harry in their final meeting? Do you agree with Barb that he didn’t feel entitled?
12. Leonard is in search of a last name and an identity through most of the book, but in Mitch’s dream, Pearl says, “Leonard knows who he is.” Do you agree with that statement?