Kramer Versus Kramer: A Novel [Hardcover]

Since Amazon didn't post an editorial review, here's the description from the back of the book to help you decide if this book is for you: "In the beginning they were three. Joanna and Ted Kramer, and four-year-old Billy -- his big brown eyes bright with curiosity and wonder. A perfect family. Then on day the mother abandons them. Divorce. And now they are two. Father and son. Caring and cared for, learning what loving and belonging are all about, until there is a bond between them that nothing can break. Nothing and nobody -- except maybe a mother who, almost two years later, changes her mind and wants her little boy back ..."

I'm surprised there aren't any reader reviews on this book. I was recently watching a biography of Meryl Streep and of course they went into considerable detail about her supporting role in the film Kramer vs. Kramer. It had been years since I watched the film and I'm recently divorced with young children so I made a point of watching it again. After gaining a new appreciation for the film and relating somewhat to Ted Kramer I decided to read the novel the movie is based on. The book does not disappoint. One can see that the storyline did not change dramatically when it was adapted for the screenplay. The dialogue in the movie is much richer as the novel is telling the story in third person. Conversations in the novel are more brief and there are a lot of unspoken thoughts that we learn through Avery Corman's narrative.

The pace of the book is pleasantly fast and Corman's sense of humor comes through. It's easy to forget how groundbreaking a book this was at a time when the only men who had custody of their children were widowers. It would have been a shame if this book had never been made into a movie since its informed an entire generation or more about the virtues of fatherhood. Seeing the movie again and reading the book have made me want to be even closer to my children.

There are some small details that are different in the book. For example in the film Ted Kramer works at an ad agency. In the book he sells advertising space for magazines, a related profession. In the book Ted Kramer loses his job twice, neither time was because of anything he did. He simply was a man who worked in a volatile industry where companies move and/or close their doors.

The biggest difference between the film and the book is the character of Joanna Kramer. In the movie Joanna who could have easily been seen as a villain appears very sympathetic in her court appearance. In the end she allows Ted to keep custody of the boy, Billy in an act of selfless love. SPOILER ALERT:

In the book, Joanna simply calls Ted to tell him she can't do it, that she can't take on the responsibilities of raising a child. Despite her alleging in court that she had mistakenly conflated her unhappiness in her marriage with her motherhood and that she "had to" leave the child behind to become healthy again, her final actions belie that narrative. Joanna is simply a flake unfit to be the primary caregiver. When faced with the court's judgement in her favor she once again becomes overwhelmed with the feelings of helplessness that drove her away in the first place. It becomes obvious that the source of her unhappiness was not her marriage to Ted, it WAS, in fact, the relationship with her son Billy. As a friend of mine is fond of saying dryly when he posts articles from newspapers about bizarre family stories, "parenting is not for everyone." The fact that parenting was not for Joanna doesn't make her a terrible person but in this case the best interests of the child were clearly to remain with the father, contrary to the conventional wisdom and legal precedents of the time.

See the movie, read the book, be good mothers and fathers regardless of your marital status; it's the most rewarding job you'll ever have.