A 34-year-old New York man has sparked speculation he could be the love child of music legend Bob Dylan after writing a novel that leans into the wild theory.
Sam Sussman authored the forthcoming novel Boy from the North Country, which is centered around a character named Evan who ‘still doesn’t know the identity of his biological father,’ according to the publishing company Penguin Random House.
The synopsis says that Evan’s mother was involved in a ‘creatively intense, emotionally turbulent romance with Bob Dylan, whom Evan reveres as an artist and whom strangers have long insisted he resembles.’
Sussman, speaking with The Independent Wednesday, said that people often told him he resembled the Like A Rolling Stone artist as he was growing up, something which he initially embraced.
‘At first it was thrilling,’ Sussman said. ‘Who doesn’t want to be told they look like a cultural icon?’
A rep for Dylan told Daily Mail there was no comment from the singer’s camp on the book.
Writer Sam Sussman, 34, says he could be the love child of music legend Bob Dylan – and has published a novel about a character who he shares traits with
The claim has angered some of Dylan’s fans, who believe Sussman’s motives are to stir up controversy in order to promote his book.
‘Dude doesn’t look like Dylan in the least aside from styling his hair exactly like Bob did,’ one fan on Reddit wrote.
‘That’s one way to get ur (probable) dads attention the other is just lawyer up and ask for a DNA test,’ another added.
‘Idk it seems Sus, man,’ someone else chimed in, while yet another fan wrote, ‘This is embarrassing.’
Sussman told the outlet that when the situation began looking like potentially more than a coincidence, things ‘became much more volatile and complex’ emotionally in dealing with being Dylan’s doppelgänger, and maybe more.
‘I just didn’t want to have that conversation with people any more,’ Sussman said.
Sussman’s mother Fran died in 2017 of ovarian cancer at 63.
Four years after, he spoke about the relationship and its impact on his life in a 2021 essay for Harper‘s magazine titled The Silent Type On (possibly) being Bob Dylan’s son.
‘I am never sure how being Bob Dylan’s child would help me come closer to beauty or truth,’ Sussman said in the essay. ‘But I know the infinite gifts of being my mother’s son.’
Sussman explained to The Independent why he chose to incorporate aspects of his life into the forthcoming novel.
‘Memoirs are often just read for the story of someone’s life, so the question of how that life was transformed into literature becomes secondary,’ Sussman said.
He continued, ‘I care much more about becoming an artist on my own terms than I do about just regurgitating the facts of my life.’
Sussman’s novel Boy from the North Country is slated to come out September 16
Dylan was pictured in London in 1986
The claim has angered some of Dylan’s fans, who believe Sussman’s motives are to stir up controversy in order to promote his book
The iconic singer-songwriter, 83, was pictured performing in Indiana at a 2023 benefit
The outlet asked Sussman what percentage of the novel, which was penned in first person, was reflective of his life experience.
The author replied, ‘There’s a famous interview with him in about ’65 or ’66 where he’s asked, «How many folk singers do you consider protest singers?» Dylan answered, «132.» So, I’ll say 132 percent of this story is true.’
The interview with The Independent was conducted in ‘the same New York City apartment’ where Dylan and Sussman’s mother spent time together in the 1970s.
Sussman said of the sentiment associated with the spot: ‘Places hold memories and meanings, and this one holds many for me.
‘There’s an incredible continuity between the art that Dylan and my mom were each trying to create back then and the book I was trying to write here in the same room.’
Boy from the North Country is slated to come out September 16.
Dylan has six children. He shares four kids — Jesse, Anna, Sam, and Jakob — with his first wife, Sara Lownds. Dylan also adopted Sara’s daughter from a prior marriage, Maria. He also has one daughter, Desiree, with his second wife, Carolyn Dennis.
