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A Summer with Freeman
Extremely humorous coming-of-age novel, taking place on Long Island, New York, 1959. Action packed, adventurous, underlying themes of religious questioning, environmentalism. A "modern day" Huck Finn novel, including first loves, bullying, encounters with authorities, and crazy escapades, guaranteed to bring smiles and laughter on every page.
356 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2013
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 12, 2023
I'm such a moron. I bought this excellent book over three years ago at the US Amazon store, but it kept slipping down my reading list. For three years I've subjected myself to a lot of horrible, upsetting, unnerving, discouraging political books -- I don't have to explain how screwed up everything is right now in the world -- when I could have enjoyed this marvelous story about the joys and dramas of growing up. Well, I needed some fun "escape" and I found it on every page of this brilliant novel.
Let me be up front. I suspect the author and I are about the same age. Meaning we're baby boomers. So I was hooked on the first few pages. Archie comic books, baseball cards, sandlot baseball, riding bikes. What a flood of great childhood memories this triggered. And some pretty bad. The main character -- and I assume the author -- had to deal with being raised Catholic, going to Catholic school, surviving priests and nuns, trying to make sense out of Church doctrine and teachings, and keeping guilt and fear of Hell from crushing the spirit of youth.
But it got better with every page. All of the adventures and misadventures of Joey and Freeman were so familiar: surviving bullies, dealing with parents, trying to figure out the great mysteries of life . . . chief among them GIRLS!
I'm not much for summarizing plots or analyzing characters. I bought a new copy of this book so I could write this review, and most importantly, tell EVERYONE out there, if you don't read this book, you're missing out on a phenomenal literary treat! It's fun and a great antidote to the misery and chaos of our current world.
Let me be up front. I suspect the author and I are about the same age. Meaning we're baby boomers. So I was hooked on the first few pages. Archie comic books, baseball cards, sandlot baseball, riding bikes. What a flood of great childhood memories this triggered. And some pretty bad. The main character -- and I assume the author -- had to deal with being raised Catholic, going to Catholic school, surviving priests and nuns, trying to make sense out of Church doctrine and teachings, and keeping guilt and fear of Hell from crushing the spirit of youth.
But it got better with every page. All of the adventures and misadventures of Joey and Freeman were so familiar: surviving bullies, dealing with parents, trying to figure out the great mysteries of life . . . chief among them GIRLS!
I'm not much for summarizing plots or analyzing characters. I bought a new copy of this book so I could write this review, and most importantly, tell EVERYONE out there, if you don't read this book, you're missing out on a phenomenal literary treat! It's fun and a great antidote to the misery and chaos of our current world.
Displaying 1 of 1 review