Here is yet another book which I obtained a while ago during a visit to one of the local libraries. It looked good, had decent reviews, and the disks were all ni good shape. So I parted with fifty cents, and went ahead and made the purchase.
And you know what?
This was a pretty good read. It is an engaging story of a group of kids growing up in the 1960's, and then having their lives intersect again about three to four decades later. There are differences between the details of the old days and the new ones, of course. Yet, there are also striking similarities and, of course, parallels.
The narrative voice, and also the main character, is named Jono Riley. He is a part-time actor who also runs a bar in New York City. That's his regular job, but his passion clearly is acting, despite never having gotten much in the way of high-profile roles. Originally from East Providence, Rhode Island, he returns to his old stomping grounds after learning about the death of Marie, the first girl he ever really loved. Yet, the relationship between the two is unorthodox. He is an awkward boy self-conscious about his looks, particularly his huge head. By contrast, she is perfect. Yet they never get romantic, but become closer to having an almost brother/sister kind of a relationship.
Part of the reason for this is a strange occurrence. The one thing which Jono really stands out at is hockey. He has an incredible game, which gets her attention. But he is literally attacked by the goalie after scoring his second goal. She tends to Jono and they walk home together, during which time she is shot for unknown reasons.
That event from decades ago suddenly becomes extremely relevant when we find out that the cause for her death is that the bullet which was lodged in her - and never taken out because it would have been too risky for medical reasons - winds up being what is called a "traveler") So while it was not seemingly fatal at first, it winds up being the cause of her premature death nevertheless, even after so much time has passed.
In returning to Rhode Island, it suddenly seems to Jono that while in some ways, everything has changed, in other ways, almost nothing has. The town has undergone many changes, and places of business which the kids grew up with went away long ago. Yet for some of the kids back then who never left, very little has actually changed in their lives. They may not be attending high school any longer, but they remain fundamentally the same. This particularly includes some of the bullies, as well as one enigmatic character, a friend of Jono's, named Bobby. Bobby is not one of the bullies, yet he is ridiculously powerful and deadly when it comes to fights, even having gotten the best of a professional fighter at one point.
Before I go on, I will do the usual warning that there will be spoilers ahead. So if you have not yet read this book and intend on doing so, you should stop reading now.
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning.
As it turns out, Jono finds out from a police officer that the shooting of Marie was apparently not an isolated incident. In fact, it was just one of a number of killings from back then. Through careful police work (done unofficially), a detective has come to the conclusion that these seemingly isolated and unrelated shootings are, in fact, from the same gun and, thus, the same killer. Jono is recruited for the unenviable task of asking Marie's husband for the bullet which was lodged in her body for all of those years, and which ultimately still killed her in the end.
Now at this point, I do not want to give away the ending entirely. But this is a review, and I already gave the spoiler warning, right? So here goes....
The killer ends up being Bobby. Bobby always seemed mysterious, a quiet, almost menacing figure. The kind of guy who stays quiet, but whom you probably know better than to mess with, right? Yet, he is accepted as one of the group of friends, along with Jono. And the two of them seem to have this special connection between them, as if they somehow understand one another better than seems possible.
When Bobby catches up with Jono and sits him down to let him know about the murders which he is responsible for, it holds a certain logic. It seems like he really is just taking certain people out in self-defense, although there is one exception. Bobby reveals to Jono that he had not been aiming for Marie at all, but for Jono, just to see if he could really got through with it.
Finally, the two of them wind up at the beach together, where the band of friends had always intended to keep reuniting every year on Memorial Day. Jono arrives with some refreshments, and Bobby, by then a fugitive on the run, also has his refreshments. The two of them sit and talk quietly about old times. There is no real menace here. Jono never feels himself in danger. By then, we know that Bobby's high school sweetheart, Colleen, is dead. Bobby's world has crumbled all around him. He has nothing left, nowhere to go. Jono convinced him to turn himself over to the authorities, and Bobby agrees surprisingly quickly. Only he asks for a few minutes by himself before joining Jono to turn himself in.
Of course, Bobby has no intention of actually turning himself in. Instead, he turns his gun on himself. Jono is not even surprised by this, really.
All in all, this was a very good read. There are some real gems in here. Very provocative observations on life in general, on society and how it has changed. There is some nostalgia of a bygone era, and how the world seemed a much more welcoming, simpler place. And how quickly that world changed, so that it largely disappeared.
This is a book which I feel very glad to have gotten them opportunity to read. I enjoyed it quite a bit, getting into it right from the first. So I felt quite grateful that this particular book wound up being one of the audiobooks which became so readily available. This really was a pleasure to read.
Highly recommended book to read, if you get the chance.
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