Due to a bout of being under the weather, I missed out on a second chance to see Steve Kluger in my area. Dang! It was also brought to my attention that he wrote The Last Days of Summer, which I read many years ago and really enjoyed. I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that My Most Excellent Year was a debut novel.
Not that it reads like one, mind you. I thought it was fantastic. The characters were all strong and wonderful, but Augie was my favorite. I love how he's treated by everyone, how his friends and family accept him at face value even when he's sort of in denial himself, and the way his self-confidence shines.
The trick to reading this book is to believe in magic, to believe in a world where kids are bright and caring and privileged and well-loved, where the gay kid is open and well-adjusted and is the star of the school, where true love is found in high school and lasts forever, where striking up a friendship with Julie Andrews is possible and adopting deaf orphans (after learning to communicate with them in record time) is a foregone conclusion. There's so much that just doesn't add up, not in the real world, but the story is so lovingly told, the characters so much fun, it doesn't matter. Plus the author makes plot points out of two of my biggest passions: musicals and the Boston Red Sox. He had me from the first page.
It'll be awhile before I write about Little Dorrit, since it'll take me a fair amount of time to get through it, but so far I'm finding it quite absorbing. And I'm sure I'll have more to write about in the interim.
Written material copyright 2009 Dawn A. Emerman
I love Steve Kluger as well -- glad to see that you're a fan. (Last Days of Summer is well worth a re-read -- it's got the same kind of magic.)
Posted by: Leila | May 20, 2009 at 07:00 AM