Barry Eisenberg is an associate professor of health care management in the School for Graduate Studies at the State University of New York Empire State College, a health care management consultant, and a former hospital administrator. During the years he has spent in health care, he has met a wide variety of people who have inspired him and helped him to understand how caring and courageous some can be. Most of his writing has been fiction, with a focus on the future of health care and higher education. “Primal Calling” is his first novel and centers around Jack, a twenty-year old whose search for his father becomes an all-consuming mission.
“Primal Calling” begins as Jack is finishing another day of college. As he drives out of the parking lot, a mysterious car follows him out and the man and woman force him into their car. When Jack questions their motive they tell him that they are taking him to meet his father. From there, the action goes back in time to Jack’s life with his mother Linda. He discovers the truth about his father one day when he is home sick from school and, because he is feeling better but bored, he is rummaging through the attic and finds his birth certificate. Curiosity gets the better of him and he uncovers his father’s name. This goes against what his mother always told him, that his father was an anonymous donor because she claims she was artificially inseminated. Rather than tell his mother and risk her stopping him from digging deeper, he continues on his own. All his probing triggers an FBI alert and it turns out his father, whose real name is Stewart Jacobson, works for the government and has different identities to protect his work and life. Jack persists in his search even though he runs into one obstacle after another. In the end, he gets to know his father and Linda reconnects with Stewart since he never knew he has a son. To protect Stewart, his employer fakes his death and he is given a new identity, but Jack and Linda remain a part of his life.
It is hard to pin down what genre of book “Primal Calling” is because it has touches of everything: a coming-of-age story because in the process of finding his father, Jack finds himself; a love story because of the budding romance between Jack and Cathy, the young lady who is helping him in his search; and an international spy thriller when Stewart’s job is the focus, including a suicide bomber plot twist. In all cases, it is an intriguing debut novel by Barry Eisenberg that has potential for becoming a series. The character development is extensive, so they become familiar and relatable without an obvious villain standing out. In an interesting plot development, before Abdel, Rafiq’s son, who is Stewart’s ally, blows himself up along with others, the reader gets to know the victims. Their description begins with “He never looked at the faces of the people near him.” This is important because it reinforces the fact that actions have consequences, affecting other people who have their own lives and that they are not just objects: “The cafeteria became a cathedral to blood, smoke, death, and chaos. Body parts were strewn about in a catastrophic human mauling.” The language level begins as intermediate: “There was no shortage of pursuits to which his interest could be applied, and, in the meantime, he vowed to savor this indoctrination into the next stage of his life” but becomes easier halfway through, which helps the pacing of the story. It also has its poetic moments: “Trees were frosted with ice, its weight tugging at the branches, creating a vastness of luminescent archways.” A one-of-a-kind novel, “Primal Calling” is recommended for fans of mysteries that are wrapped up in family drama with a touch of international spy intrigue.
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
SA Examiner 