The Old Neighborhood

After reading two heavy, heavy books about racism, I was at a loss over what to read next. (I think my library hold list is the longest it's ever been, but nothing is coming available.) My first thought was to look for a rom-com. I started scanning the online catalog and I just liked the sound of title, The Old Neighborhood. I wasn't paying very close attention so I didn't even realize that Avery Corman was also the author of Kramer vs. Kramer.

The Old Neighborhood is the story about Stevie, growing up in the Bronx in the 1940s. The first part of the novel reads much more like a memoir than a novel. The first half of the novel also really just sets the scene for the major part of the story which comes in the second half of this fairly short book. The first half is kind of "ordinary" for lack of a better word. But when you finish the book, you realize how truly impactful it is.

Stevie is kind of aimless as a teen. His parents don't have the best relationship. He's a great athlete, but his parents never go watch him play sports. It seems like the only guy who takes an interest in Stevie and his life is Sam, the bookie.

I don't want to give anything away, but this is a novel about reinventing yourself several times. It's about self-discovery.

I'm not sure if the novel appealed to me so much because I'm Jewish, because I'm from New York City, because I did have a little stint going back to the old neighborhood to live. I found a lot to like in this novel and I'll be thinking about it for some time to come.

 

The Keeper of Lost Things

 

I had no preconceptions about Ruth Hogan's The Keeper of Lost Things. I'm not sure if that's why I enjoyed it as much as I did.

The novel tells two distinct stories and of course I was anxious to find out how the two stories would eventually come together. I mean, they'd have to come together at some point, right? 

Anthony Peardew is a keeper of lost things. His losing the first thing, an important thing, a medallion that his fiancee gave him to remember her by, on the day that she died wracked him forever. His approach to moving forward in life was to collect lost objects and writing short stories about them. As he nears the end of his life, though, he worries that he never made an effort to try to get the lost things back to the people who lost them. That effort involves Laura, his assistant. It includes Sunshine, his neighbor. And eventually involves his gardener, Freddie. 

The parallel story is about Boomer, a publisher, and his assistant Eunice. A quirky guy with an infatuated assistant and an interesting family.

I don't want to say anymore and risk spoiling the book for anyone who chooses to read it. But it was a clever story, enjoyable to read, and I would recommend it.