Review: Wasted Youth
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 14, 2012
This is a wonderful novella about the life and times of Jackson Reilly, a bouncer for a club living a life of drugs, alcohol and riding his motorcycle. Reilly is without direction, achievement, or a stable relationship,just drifting through a life without meaning. When his mother dies, his life is not significantly changed - until he goes to give her sister some of his mother's personal effects. His aunt welcomes him and draws him into a conversation about the music that runs through the lives of their family. All of his mother's generation were professional jazz musicians who knew and worked with the greats of jazz. At one time, Jackson seemed poised to continue the family business; he was a tremendously talented pianist. For reasons that Jackson can't explain, he feels drawn back to the piano. As he pursues learning to play again, his life starts to change in every way. The question is whether or not Jackson can complete something this time. Will he accept the difficult path of mastery or will he sink back into the inertia of his pathetic existence?