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80th out of 591 books
—
982 voters
Beyond Nostalgia
by
Tom Winton (Goodreads Author)
Born with blue in his collar, not in his veins, Dean Cassidy chronicles his soul-scarring rise from New York's darkest alleys to a place somewhere nearer the top of his world. A human accomplishment as difficult as it is unlikely, his struggle is intensified by haunting memories of Theresa Wayman, his long-estranged teenage soul-mate.
Theresa!Theresa!Theresa! She just won'...more
Theresa!Theresa!Theresa! She just won'...more
Paperback, 222 pages
Published
February 12th 2011
by Createspace
(first published February 10th 2011)
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Excellent read and well written. Dean Cassidy comes from a dysfunctional family and is suffering the usual growing pains of being a teenager living in New York City during the 1960's. He meets Theresa Wayman at a high school dance and a budding romance begins. They soon discover that they are soul mates and begin to plan a life together after high school. Their love for each other is shattered when Dean goes to a bachelor party, gets drunk and ends up having sex with another girl. Theresa is dev...more
When Tom Winton first approached me about reviewing his novel “Beyond Nostalgia” I was kind of excited. Here, in my eager little hands, was a book that not only had a fascinating product description, but the Amazon clout to back it up. (24 reviews, 22 – 5 stars and 2 – 4 star) This fact alone (if I were to consider previous experiences) boded well for the book I was about to read. (In case you were wondering…No, I didn’t actually read any of the reviews….that would be pointless now wouldn’t it.)...more
Beyond Nostalgia is a wonderful story. I have to admit that the beginning of the story reminded me of my husband’s experiences before being drafted. At times I had to pause to wipe tears away before diving back into the book.
Beyond Nostalgia is a memoir of sorts, of a man named Dean Cassidy. It begins inNew Yorkin 1967 and follows Dean’s life to 1992. I know that sounds like a terrible snore but the story flows well and the characters are really endearing.
I enjoy the way that Dean deals with the...more
Beyond Nostalgia is a memoir of sorts, of a man named Dean Cassidy. It begins inNew Yorkin 1967 and follows Dean’s life to 1992. I know that sounds like a terrible snore but the story flows well and the characters are really endearing.
I enjoy the way that Dean deals with the...more
Beyond Nostalgia will keep you up reading all night.
The first half is a wonderful romance, period language, a late sixties Catcher in the Rye feel except that Dean and Theresa are both lovable. I kept thinking to myself 'it's going to go wrong now, no, not yet, yes, it's going to go wrong now'. That suspense combined with the great style employed makes for a fantastic piece of work.
Then bang, down to earth in the second half of the book. First we take Manhattan - Dean has become a social rebel...more
The first half is a wonderful romance, period language, a late sixties Catcher in the Rye feel except that Dean and Theresa are both lovable. I kept thinking to myself 'it's going to go wrong now, no, not yet, yes, it's going to go wrong now'. That suspense combined with the great style employed makes for a fantastic piece of work.
Then bang, down to earth in the second half of the book. First we take Manhattan - Dean has become a social rebel...more
This is a book for anybody out there that had a first love that they never forgot.
This is the story of Dean Cassidy, a bleak young man who meets his true first love in the New York of the nineteen sixties. His romance with Theresa is both pure and deep, but this is also a story of human beings and Dean loses it all in one tragic, drunken act of stupidity.
And in some ways that's where the story really begins, because it really isn't a romance story. This is a tale about how life doesn't always wo...more
This is the story of Dean Cassidy, a bleak young man who meets his true first love in the New York of the nineteen sixties. His romance with Theresa is both pure and deep, but this is also a story of human beings and Dean loses it all in one tragic, drunken act of stupidity.
And in some ways that's where the story really begins, because it really isn't a romance story. This is a tale about how life doesn't always wo...more
Dean is young, its about 1967 and he falls in love...his mother is a religious fanatic, his father
a hard working cab driver. Her mother is a drunk, her father is dead. They share their home problems, find escape in each other, until one day she & her mother just disappear. Dean is heartbroken, he cannot find her, he thinks of her every waking hour.....for years & years. He
finally meets another woman, marries, has 2 kids, works jobs he hates...he wants to be a writer.
He writes a book, is...more
a hard working cab driver. Her mother is a drunk, her father is dead. They share their home problems, find escape in each other, until one day she & her mother just disappear. Dean is heartbroken, he cannot find her, he thinks of her every waking hour.....for years & years. He
finally meets another woman, marries, has 2 kids, works jobs he hates...he wants to be a writer.
He writes a book, is...more
Young love, is it real, will it last. Dean and Theresa think it is, until Dean breaks her heart.
The sad part is that Dean cannot get Theresa out of his head. Even after, he falls in love and marries, even after, he has children and achieves his dream.
It is twenty-four years later when he finally knows the answer to his questions.
This was a great set up for a real love story, but it soured a little for me but maybe for you it will all be justified in the end. While I found Dean reprehensible at t...more
The sad part is that Dean cannot get Theresa out of his head. Even after, he falls in love and marries, even after, he has children and achieves his dream.
It is twenty-four years later when he finally knows the answer to his questions.
This was a great set up for a real love story, but it soured a little for me but maybe for you it will all be justified in the end. While I found Dean reprehensible at t...more
Beyond Nostalgia captures the power of first love and stretches it painfully over a lifetime of regrets. It is a simple, classic boy meets girl, boy loses girl kind of story.... and yet it held me to the very last page; I couldn’t guess the ending and I love that!
If I have to flag up a slight negative it would be the overall structure; I would have loved a little more tension, a few more highs and lows along the way. I felt a little lost around the middle, but I liked the authors writing style...more
If I have to flag up a slight negative it would be the overall structure; I would have loved a little more tension, a few more highs and lows along the way. I felt a little lost around the middle, but I liked the authors writing style...more
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Dean Cassidy grew up in an unpredictable home at an unpredictable time. With a mentally ill mother and an angry, absent father, he lacks direction. This all changes when he meets Theresa Wayman, the love of his life, who steals his soul at 18. Beautiful Theresa comes from an unstable home, but has big dreams that include Dean, a house, and a picket white fence. Yet this is not meant to be.
During the rest of his life, Dean struggles to find meaning and fill the hole left in his heart by Theresa....more
During the rest of his life, Dean struggles to find meaning and fill the hole left in his heart by Theresa....more
Beyond Nostalgia is one of the best romantic tales I've ever read. I kept trying to second guess what the MC, Dean would do. The story kept up a good pace with very likable characters and not once did I feel bogged down by unnecessary details. I recommended you buy this and enjoy the sometimes rocky ride to happiness and success. The story is beautifully written, very compassionate and you'll need a compulsory box of tissues towards the end as Dean wrestles with his feelings and you don't know w...more
I wasn't so sure about this book at first. I kept thinking I wish it would get onto something. Then I realized I was half way through. When I sat back and thought about the story he was telling I understood I was reading about his life. It had to be told that way. IF I was already half way through it must have been good. Without spoiling the ending that is what really did it for me.
This book is about life and the choices we make and the outcomes of those decisions. Did we make them for the righ...more
This book is about life and the choices we make and the outcomes of those decisions. Did we make them for the righ...more
Rating: 7/10
First off, I just noticed the description is sooo long! It does give a pretty good feel of the story, though it could probably do with being a little shorter. It didn't ruin the story for me in any way, but when I read it again after I finished reading the book, I realised how much information it gives away.
So, now, about the actual book! The story is cut into two parts: the first one is set in the time of Dean's youth, while the second takes place many years later, when Dean is in h...more
First off, I just noticed the description is sooo long! It does give a pretty good feel of the story, though it could probably do with being a little shorter. It didn't ruin the story for me in any way, but when I read it again after I finished reading the book, I realised how much information it gives away.
So, now, about the actual book! The story is cut into two parts: the first one is set in the time of Dean's youth, while the second takes place many years later, when Dean is in h...more
I'd heard a great deal about this book and was expecting great things, but although overall it was OK, I felt the author was trying a little bit too hard to be a great writer but didn't quite carry it off for me. I didn't really like the main character - he was so self-obsessed I found myself disliking him more and more as the story went on and I found his sudden rise to fame a tad unrealistic. I struggled to finish this and it was with a sense of relief that I finally closed my Kindle.
I thought this book was pretty good. Even though I wished that it ended differently, I am glad that Dean made the right decision in the end. The book was bittersweet for me because it seemed as if Dean couldn't let himself just be happy with his life, because of the ghost of Theresa and even in the end, when they came together again, it was too late anyway. I would give this book 3.5 stars if I could and I did enjoy it.
I found this story compelling, poignant and heart-wrenching, with the naivety of teenagers combined with the frustrations adults experience. I was extremely moved and rooting for the main characters, from start to finish. It was not only a great read but a lesson in hope, with some fascinating twists and turns - an excellent book.
This was an intersting book by Tom Winton involving a man, the love of his life, the second love of his life and the meeting many years later of the first lvoe of his life again. The characters were believable and the plot was new and unusual. It was a good read.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
I found myself reading this book during odd moments of the day when I should have been doing something else. There was a "calling" to the book that I cannot really explain. I needed to know how it it ended. May not be everyone's "cup of tea" but it was certainly mine. Love lost from a man's POV...Tom Winton did a spectacular job.
Engaging story, but predictable. Written by a very male POV, which is fine ...but the female characters were pretty one dimensional/shallow and served only as a backdrop to the true love story at the heart...man loves himself. Still, it was readable.
Certainly not a classic literary book but thoroughly engrossing right up to the last page. I found it hard to put down although the dysfunctional families were a bit over the top at times. A story about first love and mistakes made.
This book haunts me.The words he strings together to form more than sentences that open up long restrained emotions as if I was staring into a mirror not being able to look away from a face that was telling truths I did not want to face because they hurt to much.I read about a mans life who is so different to mine,a man who as a person is so unlike me and yet the emotions he describes fit perfectly into vacant slots inside me. Awakening a sadness and also reminding me how lucky I have been in li...more
I found this to be a rather long drug-out silly love story. I did think it was more interesting because it was written by a man, but it didn't work for me. I found myself skipping through the pages just to finish it.
Life is NOT always greener on the other side. That lawn has ants and weeds and bad spots too. Life is too short to eat the grass that is way over there when you have perfectly great grass right here.
I loved this story. It reads more like a biography than fiction. Dean is a very interesting character with so much heart that the reader can't help but relate to. The author does a great job of explaining what makes Dean who he is. New Yorkers will relate very well to the beginning of the story and the narrative. I could not believe that he carried the torch for Theressa for that long, but he hadn't had closure so that is understandable. Maddy is a lovable character. I would have loved to learn...more
A heart-scrunching book that kept me turning the pages into the wee small hours. Beautifully written with memorable characters that felt real. I loved this book.
I loved this book...one of the best stories I have ever read...the characters were awesome...highly recommend...
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A tale of first love, betrayal, separation, endurance and finally making the right decision.
I must not have read the same book as the rest of the world. Waste of my time.
My complete review is on my blog.
http://vampirekiss1967.blogspot.com/
http://vampirekiss1967.blogspot.com/
Was a surprise. Well written and an interesting theme.
Good story. Writing needs polish in some places.
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Tom Winton was born and raised in New York City. During his working career he has done everything from working on a railroad gang in the Colorado Rockies to driving a taxicab in Manhattan. He has also been a mailman, a salesman, an entrepreneur and more. Now retired, he lives in Hobe Sound, Florida, with his wife Blanche and their ill-tempered but loveable Jack Russell terrier, Ginger. They spend...more
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