Review: Evocative, first-rate memoir
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 13, 2013
Glad to see this available. I'd heard about it after reading his first two novels (BAD MOVE and BAD GUYS) but found it hard to come by in the US or ungodly expensive. Captured me from the start. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and from around third grade on, every vacation was spent at Brock's Lakeshore Cabins just north of Gladstone in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. My sisters and I envied the local kids who lived there all year long with fishing, boating, beaches, wilderness, and critters galore at their back doors. Barclay's book tells the story of what it must have been like to be one of those local kids. The nostalgia is strong, and being just a few years older than Barclay, the pop culture references resonated with me. I studied Russian like his brother, dabbled in writing and loved reading many of the same authors. I also endured the wistfulness and heartbreak of long distance relationships. After the humor of his first novels and considering his journalism experience, I expected to be convulsed with Dave Barry-like hilarity, but Barclay's approach is more subtle, more wry and wise than smart-ass. It's a coming of age story, an insider's view of the tense and tender, the highs and lows most families endure. An outstanding characteristic of Barclay's fiction (especially the standalone thrillers) is his ability to create realistic and compelling family situations. You can see the roots of that in this touching and evocative memoir. Should appeal to fans of Paul Feig's KICK ME or the work of Jean Shepherd.