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Text of the page (random words):
do not go gentle do not go gentle thursday december 27 2018 a high school basketball coach deals with small town secrets from the outset of this novel just about every aspect of darwin burr s life in claxton 60 miles from chicago is set up for possible upheaval he works at autopro a nationwide car parts retailer for his childhood buddy billy rourke who has been involved in some increasingly questionable business practices darwin has a stable but cold relationship with his wife daina who thinks he lacks ambition their daughter astra is getting ready to try out for the high school varsity basketball team that s when the changes start the team s coach becomes ill suffering chest pains billy arranges for darwin a former claxton basketball star to assist the school s guidance counselor fariba pahlavi in coaching the team then billy disappears as representatives from the corporate office show up looking to fire him and turn him over to the fbi one of those reps stephanie washington steps in as the interim boss to audit billy s records adding to the turmoil darwin takes an interest in recruiting toni a young girl for the basketball team and soon winds up trying to help her out of a difficult home situation everyone he knows has secrets and they all seem to be revealed at once forcing darwin to figure out who he is without his support group there are a lot of characters swirling around darwin the center of this story and joy letting go 2018 etc makes them all count they each have distinct personalities from the guy who owns the breakfast place to daina fariba and darwin himself the author has a good eye for telling details and exchanges between characters at one point when darwin is trying to find out more about daina s past as a latvian immigrant he observes i learned that when she put my name at the end of her speech it meant our discussion was over this version of claxton feels real like north bath new york in richard russo s nobody s fool perhaps the most impressive aspect of the book is that joy avoids the temptation to wrap everything up too cleanly after introducing so many complications a character rich skillfully plotted midwestern drama publisher moonshine cove publishing program kirkus indie review posted online sept 20th 2018 posted by len at 12 29 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest saturday december 22 2018 this short fiction collection examines various characters reactions to death past regrets and other life changes joy s american past time 2015 stories range from the wistful reminiscence of riding a greyhound bus into the new world in which a widower reflects on the young inept man that he was on his honeymoon to the more cynical the quick pick in which an unusual couple builds a life by using the winning lottery ticket of a dead man many of the characters in these stories never seem to completely find peace but some do reach some kind of redemption in dalton s good fortune for instance a broken vietnam vet finds salvation from a fortuneteller and in nina s song a man who s carried the unimaginable guilt of losing his sister in a mall ever since he was a child realizes that his family has never blamed him for her disappearance throughout these often very brief tales no matter how dire bleak reflective or celebratory they might be joy maintains a smooth prose style with a light touch that acts as a counterpoint to the darkness at the same time he fills the tales with imagery as exceptional as that in his debut novel as in the girl from yesterday his face was all leathery like boots after they get nice and broke in among the life changing epiphanies joy sprinkles in humor pickup line at the ritz carlton is basically a setup and a punchline he also evokes mystery in triage in which the wife of a retired philandering surgeon suggests that he relieve his boredom by taking a mountain bike ride this doesn t turn out well which leaves readers wondering about the wife s motives there s also an engaging trilogy of connected pieces the girl from yesterday time don t run out on me and the titular story that follow different characters through a night on the town short edgy tales with depth pub date may 21st 2018 isbn 978 1 981074 91 4 page count 85pp publisher hark new era publishing program kirkus indie review posted online july 11th 2018 kirkus reviews issue sept 1st 2018 posted by len at 2 28 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest better days len joy moonshine cove publishing sep 21 2018 softcover 14 99 286pp 978 1 945181 44 3 clarion rating 4 out of 5 better days is a bighearted wry and tender novel that focuses on love and loyalty len joy s better days is an attention grabbing crime story in which unexpected upheavals result in welcome second chances what s the penalty for blind trust and loyalty that s the question darwin burr must answer when the fbi announces that his lifelong friend and now missing boss billy is a person of interest mysterious envelopes stuffed with money diamonds and gold coins turn up out of nowhere and darwin s leisurely work life at an auto parts distribution center becomes anything but particularly since he s always signed the papers billy passed across his desk no questions asked soon everything in his life is called into question including his marriage his family and his career darwin narrates his tangled web with amusing slang and witty observations his voice is a counterpoint to the story s serious legal accusations and dark romantic temptations winning laid back prose belies the seriousness of darwin s situation but turns up the tension to eleven as he seeks truth from those who say they are only trying to protect him detailed scenes set in familiar bars and sweaty high school gyms are juxtaposed to spirited dialogue resulting in a rhythmic text that moves at a clip through capable foreshadowing and well timed revelations the story negotiates absorbing subplots especially around an endangered young girl toni who is in darwin s charge and her basketball coach for whom darwin develops feelings references to toni morrison s the bluest eye with its themes of racism and incest bring in weightier topics than the novel s primary themes of guilt and innocence perhaps hinting at things happening offscreen in toni s life this layered undercurrent adds more to contemplate though such secondary story lines slow the novel s pace and the denouement feels delayed as a result there are many characters in this book but they are all complex and realistic sympathy is secured when even the villains exhibit humanity from a lawyer sent to take darwin down who helps him instead to a misanthropic prepper neighbor who becomes a powerful ally this caring lineup of secondary characters is drawn with optimism that fits the story s tone appropriate punishments and rewards are meted out by the end with puzzle pieces clicking into place to reveal the entire picture some characters secrets now known remain unacknowledged and that silence reads as an act of love better days is a bighearted wry and tender novel that focuses on love and loyalty reviewed by drema drudge november 30 2018 posted by len at 2 22 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest older posts home subscribe to posts atom reviews and essays better days a novel letting go stories american past time a novel how to write a novel better days paperback 15 00 free shipping ebook 7 99 amazon barnes noble american past time paperback 10 00 free shipping ebook 4 99 amazon letting go paperback 6 00 free shipping ebook 0 99 amazon blue blue len joy bio len writer and triathlete member of team usa three books published american past time letting go and better days lives in evanston il with wife suzanne view my complete profile my published stories jury duty the birdhouse builder freestyle dark hours don t let the stars get in your eyes the lovebox triage nina s song the bump this train makes all the stops the girl from yesterday the toll collector 4 a m mary bryan cake kid parker gets a title fight at the garden my father s ice menage a trois without a trace the lie detector dalton s good fortune letting go the cloud game pickup line at the ritz fifteen minutes harlow comes home casualties and somewhere men are laughing driving lessons and how i saved the ymca happy hour martha in the gps call center mr tolerant panty lines and the bush doctrine patrimony riding a greyhound bus into the new world rocky point crabs 1978 what wives do blog flux blog archive 2018 3 december 3 this short fiction collection examines vario better days len joy 2015 9 november 1 august 2 july 1 june 1 may 1 april 1 march 1 january 1 2014 16 november 1 october 1 september 1 august 4 july 4 june 2 may 2 march 1 2013 13 december 1 november 1 september 1 august 1 july 2 june 3 may 2 march 2 2012 20 december 2 november 1 october 1 september 3 august 4 july 1 june 4 may 1 april 1 march 1 february 1 2011 28 november 1 october 1 september 2 august 3 july 4 june 3 may 5 april 2 march 3 february 4 2010 40 december 5 october 4 september 2 august 2 july 2 june 4 may 3 april 7 march 5 february 2 january 4 2009 54 december 8 november 7 october 11 september 10 august 13 july 5 subscribe to this blog posts atom posts all comments atom all comments simple theme powered by blogger