Adopting Alyosha: A Single Man Finds a Son in Russia

Given the number of children languishing in orphanages overseas and the number of Americans clamoring to adopt, one would think that it would be a relatively quick and straightforward process to bring them together. Not so, particularly if the prospective parent is an unmarried man. The title gives away the happy ending, which somewhat deflates the suspense that builds as Klose, a columnist for the Christian Science Monitor and a biology professor in Orono, Maine, runs into one blind alley after another in his search for ""Pablo,"" the Latin-American boy he believes is waiting for him. With wry humor, Klose chronicles the adoption process, step by agonizing step, from his first meeting with an agency through parenting classes, obsessive cleaning for his ""homestudy"" inspection and dealing with adoption facilitators of varying levels of honesty and efficiency (one bilks him out of $4000). After more than two years, much paperwork and many fees, Klose forgoes his Latin dream and, after spotting a boy in an adoption agency video, travels to Russia to pick up seven-year-old Alyosha. A combination journal, travelogue and, above all, love story, this is a wonderful read, even for those uninvolved in adoption. (Mar.)