Review: Faults, perhaps. Worthy, yes.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2014
I will be completely honest... I almost stopped reading half way through the first chapter.  Geoff North's literary style may be described as "stoccado" with rapid, thrusting simple sentences occasionally fleshed out with more complex paragraphs, and combined with what is initially a crude, unsympathetic character and seemingly gratuitous use of expletives,  I was nearly dissuaded to even continue.  The subject, however,  continued to pull me; reliving childhood with memories intact is a very human source of fascination and daydreams.There were a few lurching momentum moments: supernatural mystery to almost Tom Sawyer-esque boy adventure to haunted house horror montage to supernatural mystery again, all interspersed with brief philosophical ruminations on the nature of time.  North shone at his best during the "boys' adventure" segments, drawing the 70s environs and youthful interactions with clarity and deep connection. The final climax of Hugh going forward to meet his penultimate destiny was also especially poingant.When I finished, I had a pleasant lingering savor of both the ending and subject. I may not have particularly enjoyed the presentation,  but neither did the manner that North chose to tell his story hinder it. And in the end, if a book can get us to think, reconsider, even perhaps to dream about our lives well after the final page has passed, it is worthy enough.