The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life

by Stephen Rodrick

Overview

On November 28, 1979, squadron commander and Navy pilot Peter Rodrick died when his plane crashed in the Indian Ocean. He was just thirty-six and had been the commanding officer of his squadron for 127 days. Eight thousand miles away on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, he left behind a grief-stricken wife, two daughters, and a thirteenyear-old son who would grow up to be a writer—one who was drawn, perhaps inevitably, to write about his father, his family, and the devastating consequences of military service.

In The Magical Stranger, Stephen Rodrick explores the life and death of the man who indelibly shaped his life, even as he remained a mystery: brilliant but unknowable, sacred but absent—an apparition gone 200 days of the year for much of his young son's life—a born leader who gave his son little direction. Through adolescence and into adulthood, Rodrick struggled to grasp fully the reality of his father's death and its permanence. Peter's picture and memory haunted the family home, but his name was rarely mentioned.

To better understand his father and his own experience growing up without him, Rodrick turned to today's members of his father's former squadron, spending nearly two years with VAQ-135, the "World-Famous Black Ravens." His travels take him around the world, from Okinawa and Hawaii to Bahrain and the Persian Gulf—but always back to Whidbey Island, the setting of his family's own story. As he learns more about his father, he also uncovers the layers of these sailors' lives: their brides and girlfriends, friendships, dreams, disappointments—and the consequences of their choices on those they leave behind.

A penetrating, thoughtful blend of memoir and reportage, The Magical Stranger is a moving reflection on the meaning of service and the power of a father's legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062364173
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	515
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Stephen Rodrick is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and also a contributing editor at Men’s Journal. His writing has been anthologized in The Best American Sports Writing, The Best American Crime Reporting, and The Best American Political Writing. He lives in Los Angeles.

What People are Saying About This

Judd Apatow

“The Magical Stranger is the true story of a boy chasing a ghost and stumbling into manhood. It is heartbreaking and funny, broken and hopeful, often on the same page.”

Editorial Reviews

03/11/2013
Rodrick was 13 when his father’s EA-6B airplane crashed into the Indian Ocean. Though the crash was never officially explained by the Navy, Rodrick felt that his father, an accomplished pilot, was ultimately responsible. Driven to understand the man he knew all too briefly, Roderick embarked on a quest to better connect his father and his life in the Navy by spending a year and a half with members of his father’s former squadron aboard the USS Nimitz and ultimately going up in the same model his father flew. The result is an engaging and immersive look at the dynamics of military units and the dual lives servicemen and women lead, from the on-again off-again relationships military families lead between deployments to the intricacies, pranks, and mores of life on a ship, all viewed through a crisp journalistic lens that helps Rodrick separate myth from reality, including the stories told about his father’s death. (May)

Publishers Weekly

In this penetrating blend of memoir and reportage, Rodrick spends nearly two years with his father’s former squadron, seeking a better understanding of the man he knew all too briefly.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating . . . . An exemplary piece of modern reportage.” — Tom Bissell, Harper's

“The Magical Stranger is one of the realest and best books I’ve read in the past several years.” — Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

“The Magical Stranger is the true story of a boy chasing a ghost and stumbling into manhood. It is heartbreaking and funny, broken and hopeful, often on the same page.” — Judd Apatow

“Stephen Rodrick’s The Magical Stranger illuminates the innate ties between fathers and sons in a fresh and fascinating way. . . . Rodrick’s firsthand knowledge thoroughly transports the reader into the hearts and minds of U.S. servicemen and their families.” — Norman Ollestad, author of Crazy for the Storm

“Stephen Rodrick finds words for what I thought was inexpressible: the private language of a military family that experiences the worst kind of loss and finally creates a path forward. There’s no more authentic account of a military family. Required reading for an America that is continually considering the cost of combat.” — Alison Buckholtz, author of Standing By

“Stephen Rodrick exhibits courage, Catch-22 comedic flair, and unfailing emotional grasp in telling this powerful and surprising story. Anyone who wants to understand the sacrifices made by military families should read this book.” — Lily Burana, author of I Love a Man in Uniform

“Stephen Rodrick’s poignant tale blends memoir, reportage, and clean, crisp, unsentimental prose to produce a book that makes you think, even at times makes you laugh, but in the end tears your heart out. A truly fabulous book.” — Robert Timberg, author of The Nightingale's Song

“How does Stephen Rodrick manage to produce writing that is raw, heartbreaking, and beautifully-controlled, all at once, and on that most difficult of all topics: fathers and sons? Find out for yourself—it’s time very well spent!” — Sean Wilsey, author of Oh the Glory of It All

“A wrenching, fascinating memoir, The Magical Stranger captures the elusive, sometimes crushing unease that haunts the lives of military families. It is written with the pace of a thriller and the emotional density of first-rate fiction.” — Blake Bailey, author of Cheever

“This memoir of a son’s search to know his father is deeply moving, important and beautifully written. Rodrick has reminded us that the casualties of war remain long after the last mission is won.” — Danielle Trussoni, author of Falling Through the Earth

“A powerful debut. . . . Candid and affecting.” — Kirkus

“An engaging and immersive look at the dynamics of military units and the dual lives servicemen and women lead. . . all viewed through a crisp journalistic lens that helps Rodrick separate myth from reality.” — Publishers Weekly

“Stephen Rodrick is possibly the best prose stylist alive.” — Wil S. Hylton, author of Vanished

From the Publisher

In this penetrating blend of memoir and reportage, Rodrick spends nearly two years with his father’s former squadron, seeking a better understanding of the man he knew all too briefly.

The New York Times Book Review

How does Stephen Rodrick manage to produce writing that is raw, heartbreaking, and beautifully-controlled, all at once, and on that most difficult of all topics: fathers and sons? Find out for yourself—it’s time very well spent!

Sean Wilsey

The Magical Stranger is one of the realest and best books I’ve read in the past several years.

Ben Fountain

Fascinating . . . . An exemplary piece of modern reportage.

Tom Bissell

Stephen Rodrick exhibits courage, Catch-22 comedic flair, and unfailing emotional grasp in telling this powerful and surprising story. Anyone who wants to understand the sacrifices made by military families should read this book.

Lily Burana

The Magical Stranger is the true story of a boy chasing a ghost and stumbling into manhood. It is heartbreaking and funny, broken and hopeful, often on the same page.

Judd Apatow

Stephen Rodrick’s The Magical Stranger illuminates the innate ties between fathers and sons in a fresh and fascinating way. . . . Rodrick’s firsthand knowledge thoroughly transports the reader into the hearts and minds of U.S. servicemen and their families.

Norman Ollestad

Stephen Rodrick finds words for what I thought was inexpressible: the private language of a military family that experiences the worst kind of loss and finally creates a path forward. There’s no more authentic account of a military family. Required reading for an America that is continually considering the cost of combat.

Alison Buckholtz

Stephen Rodrick’s poignant tale blends memoir, reportage, and clean, crisp, unsentimental prose to produce a book that makes you think, even at times makes you laugh, but in the end tears your heart out. A truly fabulous book.

Robert Timberg

A wrenching, fascinating memoir, The Magical Stranger captures the elusive, sometimes crushing unease that haunts the lives of military families. It is written with the pace of a thriller and the emotional density of first-rate fiction.

Blake Bailey

Stephen Rodrick is possibly the best prose stylist alive.

Wil S. Hylton

This memoir of a son’s search to know his father is deeply moving, important and beautifully written. Rodrick has reminded us that the casualties of war remain long after the last mission is won.

Danielle Trussoni

A powerful debut. . . . Candid and affecting.

Kirkus

Journalist Rodrick's powerful debut chronicles the long, difficult process of coming to terms with the untimely death of his father, a Navy pilot. Black Ravens squadron commander Peter Rodrick was just 36 in 1979, when his airplane went down in the Indian Ocean. After his son turned the same age in 2002, Stephen's then-wife told him that he wouldn't be "a proper father" until he "made peace" with his dad. The younger Rodrick tried, writing an article about Navy pilots on the Kitty Hawk, his father's last ship, but Pete remained the enigmatic "magical stranger" of his childhood. The peacemaking task didn't begin in earnest until Stephen received an invitation to a ceremony involving Pete's old squadron in 2009. Getting to know the Black Ravens' newly commissioned commander, James Hunter Ware III, he realized, would help him better understand his father. The resulting narrative weaves between Rodrick's memories of a brilliant, mysterious father and his account of Ware's personal and professional trials in the same job. Peter Rodrick was a dedicated officer and fearless "cowboy" pilot, but he left the task of guiding his wayward son to a beleaguered wife against whom Stephen battled throughout his childhood and adolescence. By contrast, Ware struggled with his competing allegiances to the Navy and a wife who had sacrificed everything for him. Through his examination of both men's lives, the author came to accept his father and understand that the accident was not the result of Pete's "sin" of reckless bravado. Finding closure with his father's death, he could finally acknowledge the quietly heroic role of his mother. It was ultimately she, he concludes, who made him "worthy" of the Rodrick name. Candid and affecting.

Kirkus Reviews