Sudden Strangers

From Publishers Weekly: The relationship between Walter Fricke, a Rhode Island harbor pilot, and his gay son, Aaron, is arrestingly portrayed as it evolved during six years from conflict to mutual understanding and respect. With earnest candor, the son (Reflections of a Rock Lobster) recalls their early companionship, his teenage realization of his homosexuality and his father's shocked but stoic reaction to his son's "coming out.'' Initial acceptance was followed by overt hostility and a two-year rift during which both men ultimately came to terms with each other's lives: the son, working in…