Review: A Fine Coming of Age Novel
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 26, 2012
Being a Chicago native myself I loved all the Chicago references in this fine coming-of-age novel. From easy access to Pabst Blue Ribbon beer just over the Wisconsin border, where the drinking age was lower, to a rock concert in the heart of the Kettle Moraine, to mindless midnight runs up and down I-94 between the south suburb of Dolton (where people are known as dolts") to the airport - I almost felt this was my story! These were my songs.The main characters are bound by blood by a series of events that happened in high school, and the story is a kind of exorcism of their past, spanning three decades. The author sprinkles plenty of surprises in the story, so that I really did not know what was coming next at any juncture. I especially loved the character of Buck, a voice of reason and sanity for boys just trying to survive their childhood.If you liked Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show, you'll love Cheeseland, Chicago's answer to that Texas classic. Highly recommended!