Benjamin Kritzer

BENJAMIN KRITZER, the first part of a biographical trilogy, introduces the reader to its eponymous hero, a lonely neurotic boy, his world of 1950s Los Angeles both nostalgic and daunting, and his struggles, Martian parents, Bad Men, sibling rivalry, and other trials of surviving childhood. As Benjamin balances losses and gains personally and universally, he takes the reader through a vanishing period of American life as well as a vanishing educational system. The book is the caterpillar's life in the early 1950, both outrageously funny and outrageously angry over the things in his life he cannot control. Popular culture runs rampant throughout the book, from popular song and movies to things I'd long forgotten like wax lips, candy cigarettes and Fizzies.KRITZERLAND, the second volume of the trilogy, takes its hero through junior high school, betrayal by a friend preferring zircons to diamonds, more popular culture, and lost friendships, as he enters his chrysalis stage before becoming the talented butterfly of the third book, KRITZER TIME. In this book, Benjamin's talents and interests begin to shape his future.These two books, like any great novel, reveal universal truths, gilding their philosophic pill with a liberal dose of humor, compassion, and humanity. To quote the films of its time: you'll laugh! You'll cry!

This was my childhood, in real life I went to Crescent Heights school with the authors brother.I last had contact with them 48 years ago.I loved the book and it left an empty feeling in my sole when it ended. I visited all the places the author talks about. This is fiction to all but the Crescent Heights kids.I lived on Crescent Heights Blvd 1 block from the schoolGreat Book ! I'm Steve Stein

I urge you to buy this book; take the phone off the hook; get comfortable, and prepare to smile from the moment you open the front cover to long after you've closed the back cover. This book is funny, charming -- in a word, enchanting. I feel like I have met an extraordinary new friend in this character. The book went way too fast, but I anxiously await the next visit with my new best friend, and so will you. Bruce Kimmel has created a living, breathing kid of 9 years old going on 45 and given us all the privelege of meeting him.

I urge you to buy this book; take the phone off the hook; get comfortable, and prepare to smile from the moment you open the front cover to long after you've closed the back cover. This book is funny, charming -- in a word, enchanting. I feel like I have met an extraordinary new friend in this character. The book went way too fast, but I anxiously await the next visit with my new best friend, and so will you. Bruce Kimmel has created a living, breathing kid of 9 years old going on 45 and given us all the privelege of meeting him.

To start, "Benjamin Kritzer" is a wonderful story capturing the essence of youth and all the wonders that it beholds. You are immediately transported back to the 50s in Los Angeles as seen through the eyes of a young boy trying to make sense of the world he lives in. I must say that Part I is exposition. A lot of it. Part I is the foundation for the rest of the story. Without it, one might not truly care about the characters in Part II. With it, the story that unfolds is pure magic. The dialogue is fresh and witty. The banter between the Kritzers (especially Minnie and Benjamin) are nothing short of hysterical. It's also a very poignant and moving declaration of first love.I don't want to post too much about the plot because I would hate to "sixth sense" anyone (that would be unseemly)... all I can say is, we can definitely expect to be reading more about BK (from BK) in the future...So.. like so much fish, that is my review.