Escaping Innocence: A Story Of Awakening

by Joe Perrone Jr.

Anyone who’s old enough to remember the Age of Aquarius, drive-in movies, and only three TV networks should appreciate - no, make that “dig” - Escaping A Story of Awakening. Peace. David Justin, an Italian-Catholic, height-challenged youth, desperately trying to escape the bonds of sexual repression and adolescent innocence that hold him captive—in the ‘60s.The journey of enlightenment is both laugh-aloud funny and gut-wrenchingly emotional, as David discovers that coming-of-age is more than just a five-minute roll in the hay culminating in a thirty-second celebratory shower. The book is filled with universal characters and rip-roaring adventures, including a hilarious spring break trip to Key West, Florida, involving a gay artist, goats, fleas, and…well, you get the picture.

376 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2008

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I began this story I expected it to be little more than an entertaining look inside the mind of an adolescent boy on the prowl. Don't get me wrong--you do get that and it is laugh out loud funny at different points. But, it is a also sad and quite a bit thought provoking!

The innocence, misunderstandings and misconceptions of a young college student collide with the civil rights movement in Kentucky. The young man discovers that individual friendship with those from the "other side of the tracks" are no more welcome by blacks than whites leaving him with little choice but to transfer to a different college in a different state.

Midway through I was wondering: how am I going to rate this book? It's been entertaining but it's really just a story about an inexperienced boy desperate to get laid for the first time and accomplish it in a manner that makes him look like he's done it at least a dozen times. (Just like every other human on this planet--you always want everything to look like you absolutely know what you are doing.)

And then the story changed. It's more than just a humorous coming of age story.

In youth, you think the fun, and great, experiences of life are the things, the moments, that will make you an adult.....but it rarely does. It is rather the experience of loss and pain that rips the innocence from you. And, then the innocence you so desperately wanted to escape is the very thing you wish to regain.

In addition, the narrator of the audiobook added much to the story. The voice, the inflections, the tone, made the narrator very believable as the young man himself.

[DianaAitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meet David Justin, an Italian-Catholic, height-challenged youth, desperately trying to escape the bonds of sexual repression and adolescent innocence that hold him captive--in the '60s.
The journey of enlightenment is both laugh-aloud funny and gut-wrenchingly emotional, as David discovers that coming-of-age is more than just a five-minute roll in the hay culminating in a thirty-second celebratory shower. The book is filled with universal characters and rip-roaring adventures, including a hilarious spring break trip to Key West, Florida, involving a gay artist, goats, fleas, and...well, you get the picture.
Anyone who's old enough to remember the Age of Aquarius, drive-in movies, and network TV should appreciate, no, make that "dig" Escaping Innocence: A Story of Awakening. Peace. FROM AMAZON

This was not really my kind of book, but once I had started it I found it amusing enough to continue.

[LK Griffie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Escaping Innocence is set in a time when the world, or at least the United States, was a little more innocent. During the turbulent times of the sixties, we as a nation lost some of that innocence through war, drugs, and the sexual revolution. Each generation has grown up knowing more at an earlier age, experiencing more, and therefore, the innocent days of youth are gone in the blink of an eye.

In Escaping Innocence Joe Perrone, Jr. takes us on a trip into the heart and mind of David Justin. We see the world from David's perspective, starting out at age 14 having his first wet dream. After that, David can hardly think about anything but sex. Shortly after this, David meets his soon to be best friend, Craig Reilly, while he was in the library studying about the American Revolution. Craig introduces David to the nude photos in the latest copy of US Camera, and a friendship is born. David in his early teenage years reminded me of a quote by one of my favorite TV characters, Jeff Murdoch (Coupling, BBC) where Jeff is explaining to his friend Steve how you could wipe out all of human kind if you were an alien with a mind ray.

Make all women telepathic. Because if they suddenly found out about the kind of stuff that goes on in our heads, they would kill us all on the spot. Men are not people. We are disgustoids in human form.

David actually makes it through school and graduates, through the grace of one of his teacher's who passes him through on effort shown rather than actual marks. Once he is out of school, David is set to meander through life. He doesn't really know what he wants to do, other than find a way to get laid. He longs to take after his boss at the liquor store, who has more money than he needs, and goes through life with one woman after the other. Once he decides that working at a liquor store for the rest of his life is not the job of his dreams, he makes the decision to go to college. His first attempt at college was to commute to an art college. The sealer for that deal for Dave was the fact that one of the classes in the catalog was 101 Nude Drawing. He could hardly wait. This was the climax of his young life, he would be able to sit and stare at nudes for a class. The golden day finally arrived and he eagerly awaited the model. Much to his chagrin, the model turned out to be a short black man, and not a tall luscious blonde. Nude models were not supposed to be MALE! He decided to give it one more try, after all, it could't get any worse than that, until an old grandmotherly type, dropped her robe and struck a pose. So ended art school for Dave.

After drifting for a little while longer, and nearly getting caught up by a military recruiter to join the Marines, Dave decided to go away to school. Leaving home and going to college in another state allows David an opportunity to mature and to start growing up. Not only that, but he is actually able to start focusing on class work, enough so that he makes the Dean's list in his first year. Of course, he also made the other Dean's list by leading a drunken mob of college men on a panty raid and is then nearly expelled.

During the summer, David and his friend Bobby-Bo take a vacation in Ocean City, and are determined to rid themselves of the stigma of virgin. Dave meets a girl who is so beautiful he can hardly catch his breath, and she really seems to like him too. The problem is that David has been raised with values and as much as he'd like to put those out of his mind, when push comes to shove, he can't. He has the desire, he wants to take that next big step, but always at the last minute, can't seem to follow through.

“Oh, God,” I moaned. I was scared, and growing more so by the second. What should I do? Should I do it? Yes or no? The confusion was overpowering. Visions of catechism class, with Sister Agnes remonstrating against temptation, invaded my subconscious, crowding lust from my thoughts. At the same time, Missy’s hand was roaming around in my shorts, heightening my arousal, and adding to my consternation. This was Armageddon: Missy versus Sister Agnes and the church! It should have been a toss-up, but it wasn’t even close. In fact, it was no contest. Sister Agnes and Catholicism won by a TKO!

What starts out as a horn dog's guide to self-pleasure winds up being a story of self-discovery and awakening to the world around him. Joe Perrone, Jr. does an amazing job of getting inside the head of the adolescent David Justin and letting us see the world through his eyes. Mr. Perrone allows David to age and mature so naturally, you'd swear that you've known David all of his life.

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am just a little older than the main character of the book. I remember the times and the beginnings of the loss of innocense that ensued. The book is at times amusing or downright hilarious and at other times emotional and gut grabbing. A recommended read for those old enough to remember and understand it.

[Deedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't like this book.The storyline of a boy coming of age in the sixties seemed like a good one until you run into one too many 'hard ons' and 'wet dreams'.The narrator was good.I was given this book for free for an honest review.