Six days could change your life, your family, and how you feel about love. Henry, our 13 year old narrator, was on a rare shopping trip with his reclusive mother, Adele, when he was approached by a bleeding man asking for a ride. Not only did his mother agree, but the man, Frank, was an escapee from the nearby correctional facility and stayed with them for Labor Day weekend. Henry was at that awkward magical stage of life where boyhood and manhood collide, and through the course of this one holiday weekend, Henry's perspective changes in a way that will affect him for the rest of his life.
I was never completely sure whether or not I could trust Frank, which was probably the point. Adhering to my no-spoiler policy, I won't give away the crime for which Frank was convicted. It is one of those questions that add to suspense and fear hovering on the surface of the whole story. The story is from Henry's point of view, so I found myself wondering how reliable the opinion of a 13 year old boy was ,when trying to decide whether or not I should be afraid for Henry and Adele. Frank was a criminal, yet he taught Henry how to make pie, throw a baseball, and paint the storm windows. How bad could he be?
Maynard gave us a small cast of characters, and each and every one were so vivid and honest. No, I didn't connect with a specific character, but they I could imagine them all so clearly, especially Henry. How she was able to climb inside the head and heart of a 13 year old boy, she blew me away.
This was not one of those brilliant epic novels that took 600 pages and three weeks to read. I read Labor Day in about two days, and could easily be read over the course of this Labor Day weekend - which I highly suggest you do! This was a brilliant, compact novel, and Joyce Maynard managed to give her readers so much while saying just enough.
I have to make a note of the paperback's cover, which I thought was beautiful and a much better representation of the story than the original cover from the hardcover edition. This has nothing to do with the story itself, but whoever was responsible for the cover on the paperback, well done!
Book Extras:
Download Chapter One
Joyce Maynard's Website
Harper Collins Page - links, reading guides, more!
Joyce Maynard will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on August 30th at 7:00pm ET
About the Book:
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (August 3, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061843415
ISBN-13: 978-0061843419
Joyce Maynard first came to national attention with the publication of The New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life”, in 1973, when she was a freshman at Yale. Since then, she has been a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, a contributor to the CBS program “Spectrum”, a syndicated newspaper columnist whose “Domestic Affairs” column appeared in over fifty papers nationwide, a regular contributor to NPR and national magazines including O, The Oprah Magazine, Newsweek,The New York Times Magazine, Forbes, Salon, San Francisco Magazine, USA Weekly and many more. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, Hard Ball, Charlie Rose, and (on radio) on Fresh Air.
Author of many books, including the novel To Die For (look for her in the movie adaptation of this book, in which she plays the role of Nicole Kidman’s attorney) and the best-selling memoir, At Home in the World, Maynard makes her home in Mill Valley, California. Her novel, The Usual Rules — a story about surviving loss — has been a favorite of book club audiences of all ages, and was chosen one of the ten best books for young readers for 2003. Her personal essay appear in numerous collections including Dirt, Mr. Wrong, Bad Girls, Going Hungry, Because I Love Her, among others. Her newest novel, Labor Day, hits stores July 28, 2009.
Mother of three grown children, she spends half her time in Mill Valley,
California, and the other half in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, where, in
addition to pursuing her own work, she runs writing workshops.
Disclosure: A copy of this book was provided by Harper Collins for participation in the TLC Book Tour.
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5 comments:
I really liked this book too - it was one of my favorites from last year.
@bermudaonion - I'm not surprised you liked this book too! It was a great book, but in a subtle way. I remember seeing it in IndieNext last year, and was so happy to have had to opportunity arise to review it for it's paperback release!
This seems like a "small" story - just a few days, just a few characters - but one that can have a huge impact. It sounds like a fabulous read.
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
Since I just finished The Good Daughters and loved it, I have Labor Day on my wishlist. Glad you liked this one.
Thanks for the review. I just finished reading and loving as well. My review of Labor Day is on my blog if you would like to read.
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