Bluesman

I am writing this review fresh off the read....just hugged the book before I tucked it back on my bookshelves. It is my ultimate praise as the book touched my heart so deeply. "The House of Sand and Fog" is on my top ten list of all time books...high praise given I have read thousands in my lifetime. That said, I love that "Bluesman" has a totally different feel. Our young protaginist, Leo, 18 years old, stands on the precipice of adulthood, being pushed over more quickly by a troubled love affair, heartbreaking decisions, a desire to escape emotional pain and the "sign of the times." This novel is set in 1969 in the heat of the Vietnam war and the season of free love: "He wished he had a picture of him and Allie to pack too. He remembered how she said this was the summer of free love, but Leo didn't believe love was free. As far as he could tell, love cost people more than anything." The writing is exquisite as exampled, the story heartbreaking yet uplifting. Where "House and Sand" was a roller coaster ride, this is a quiet jumble in a pickup, savoring the sights as senses are heightened by the fullness of the surroundings. Andre Dubus III characters are written so acutely it disables complacency in the reader. The plotline is steady; the writing intrinsic; the story is the blues and whether played on harmonicas or heartstrings, the effect is much the same. Play on, Leo, play on.

I wish I could have read 'The Bluesman' (as well as 'House of Sand and Fog') slower, but it was impossible not to get frenetically caught up in the journey of 'Young Buddy' Leo Suther. Equally as difficult was concentrating on the last 75 pages with a huge knot in my stomach. (I kept seeing Patrick Fugit as Leo and Kate Hudson as Allie...) I would love to write more about this novel, as there is enough to talk about to fill a hundred nights of Wednesday book clubs. But the old adage is true: discover this one on your own with eyes wide open, and the satisfaction from the novel is tenfold than if you know too much about it going in. This is a coming of age story that will have you giving this book to your friends and relatives for them to read for two reasons: 1) The joy you get from passing on a great work to others, and 2) So you'll HAVE people to talk to about it when they're done, as your head will swim with questions and opinions until you can discuss it with people. Andre Dubus III's works are not meant to be digested and then forgotten about.

This is a book of unpretentious beauty. It evokes the pathos of an artistic and sensitive generation of youth in the 1960's in subtle and beautiful narrative. Leo Suther is evocative of the of the youth of the 1960's that are often misunderstood and sometimes still dismissed to this day. The writer weaves a character of complex and conflicting emotions in the central character of Leo Suther. Leo's journey into adulthood is aided skillfully and compassionately by his father and his father's best friend Ryder. With them, he enters into the world of blues music and finds a release for pent-up emotions elicted by the death of his mother at a young age. His father shares with Leo the story of his mother and the manner in which this is done through her personal letters and diaries is profound and deeply moving. Leo enters into a tragic love affair with Allie Donovan and must learn to reconcile his values with those of her materialistic and dogmatic family and by doing so suffers insurmountable personal pain and rejection. Woven together with the beauty of the musical form of blues music, this is a book of memorable beauty, tradegy, and love that ranks high on the list of truly great American stories of youth and their struggles.

This is a wonderful book, and belongs in the Pantheon of excellent coming of age books. After reading it, I then bought some of the blues music written about - so this became a multimedia joy. Dubus has captured the thought-processes of a teenage boy to a tee.

It is not often you find a book that is about ordinary people and yet extraordinary in its telling. Dubus paints a picture of Massachusetts in the mid-sixties, and brings it to life so you can feel the heat and rain of the summer, almost smell the woods and countryside, and almost hear the blues played on harmonica. The characters have depth and can be identified with to the point of feeling their emotion. It was an excellent read which brought tears to my eyes and ended way too soon. It is one of the three best books I have read in the past year and I highly recommend it