An Unfinished Season

What it was like to be 19 in the 1950's in the Midwest...excellent book, especially for those of us who lived through the era at the same age (albeit on the East Coast). A great story, well-written, which makes you think and remember with pleasure and the occasional wince what it was like in that era to be on the cusp of manhood, and then just past it.

This is my first book by Ward Just but I will definitely go back and read some of his earlier work. I was consistently impressed with the economy of his words versus the depth he was able to impart through them, both in his description of people, places and situations. It is one of those books whose passages I will revisit in my mind for a long time. This is a beautifully written novel, deceptively simple at first but filled with thought provoking "life lesson" moments and comments. I am awed by the talent of this writer.

Set between Winter, 1953, and Autumn, 1954 (except at the very end), this is a very, very fine look at the world seen through a very intelligent and sensitive 19 year old only (male) child, and his days in and around the great city of Chicago. Living a priviledged life literally on the golf course/ country club, this book grabs you from the first line, with the descriptions of union troubles and strikes at his father's paper plant, and his father skating in the nearby pond. The 1st person narrator (i.e. the 19 year old) is much quieter and more thoughtful than Dad, the team player who see his business torn apart by the strike. He seeks freedom beyond this narrow confine in the jazz clubs of the city, and the debutante balls among the upper crust, meeting many unusual people, including a psychiatrist with an unusual secret, plus his daughter whom our 19 year falls for. There's a lot going on between the lines, and the prose is perfect thruout. The ending seems very vague, but that may be the author's intention. All in all, a very worthy effort by Mr. Just.