Richard Babcock (1)

Interesting book that had me guessing as to its direction multiple times. I did not read the jacket so i was in the dark. Interesting characters tucked away in a small Wisconsin town during the Johnson Administration and young men heading off to Vietnam. Odd trio of Bow, Charlie and Ginger come together and evolve over time and seem to rely on each other as crutches, yet also seem to be really not good for each other at all. A little annoyed that the ultimate climax is given away immediately at the beginning of the book making me wonder how that would happen.......i would have been happier to have been startled when it did instead of waiting for it. All in all an interesting read of a book picked up at a yard sale that i just impulse-bought for no particular reason.....fun every now and then.… (más)

Something about this book just spoke to me. I settled into the life on John Lincoln almost immediately…seeing the people, places and happenings of his world clearly. (Oddly, I kept picturing him as the character Richard Sherman from “The Seven Year Itch”. A man living through a hot summer in the city, away from his wife, with an active imagination…also a book editor for a small press….)

Anyway – Richard Babcock’s writing is so accessible that the reader is just there – in the story. The characters all have distinct voices and all seemed vaguely like people I’ve known. Chicago is a character in the story as well – not as much as New York is in many of the stories that take place there – but still a strong part of the story.

I also liked the fact that while Lincoln does make some unwise choices…this never becomes the story of a train wreck happening to a once good life. Stories like that quickly kill off any interest as I find myself wanting to reach into the book and shake sense into people. Lincoln makes mistakes, true, but then realistically deals with the consequences.

I’d never heard of Richard Babcock before – but now shall make a point of looking into his previous books.… (más)