Frederick Reiken grew up in the same town as me, I guess five years behind me in school so I never knew him, but he set his second novel The Lost Legends of New Jersey there and uses all the landmarks from his side of town (Silvermans, Eppes Essen, the Bagel Box) but surprisingly for a novel about teenagers leaves out the Livingston Mall–everyone I know spent plenty of time there in high school but I guess a more or less generic shopping center just doesn’t give the same sense of place.
So, the book: Reiken has a great skill with words, I really just enjoyed reading this book independent of the characters or their stories. And while he creates interesting characters–how could I not be engaged by a teenage Jewish boy from Livingston in the late ’70s and early ’80s?–I should say that this book is more a series of vignettes than a standard novel with plot twists and conclusions. Anthony Rubin, the main character, does come to a bit of maturity over the pages, that’s the closest thing to plot here, but I wouldn’t want to discourage your interest over this.
This is definitely Literature and I expect there is ample opportunity for applying critical theory and the like though I have no intention of doing so. I’ll just point out that while others disagree, I felt his use of instant, no look transitions all through the volume was quite interesting.
recommended
BillSaysThis 