This book has been on my shelf (unread) for a rediculously long time... I'm talking years! It looked dull, the title seemed dull, the author's name seemed dull. Lame, eh? But it just never appealled to me.
Till Tuesday - the first day back at school... maybe I sub-conciously felt guilty for being so giddy about sending the kids off to school after a long busy summer. Maybe I thought I needed a little dull-ness in my life.
I was wrong about the dullness... I started the book at lunch on Tuesday and stayed up late to finish it that night. It's not a seat of your pants, what's going to happen next kind of book. AT ALL! As a matter of fact, about 20 pgs in, you know this kid is never going to get out of his narrow, small town life; is never going to do anything special; is going to marry mediocre, have average kids and be mildly discontented with life. And yet... I laughed through my tears.
And... here's the kick. This novel was written by a 23 year old guy. TWENTY-THREE! How does he know these things? A definite must-read.
From the afterward by Rick Hillis:
"David Adams Richards must have observed and absorbed a lot in a short duration to paint such an intricate and truthful canvas of a small-town working-class life. What a story. Not only the narrative of Kevin slouching towards maturity, but also the near-myth of the young David Adams Richards holed up somewhere, full of hope, getting it all down. To me, the two tales are inseparable. Together they comprise the great Canadain story."
Warning: contains some foul language
I love the picture of the old books at the top of the page!
ReplyDeleteInteresting how you can get so caught up in a book. I seldom have that experience. Mind you, I read mostly non-fiction.
I was just curious about the significance of the title, if any.
The title of the book? or the Book Club?
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