Sewer Balls

A friend of mine turned me unto this book - I thought I knew all the Bronx nostalgiac books, but this one was under my radar... Heres my review... It's a pretty awesome book -- its about an 8th grade kid in the early 60's JFK had just gotten shot at the beginning of the book) who lived over behind the Jerome Reservoir and his daily life in school and hanging with his friends on the block and places like the bleachers in Van Courtlandt... The book was a pretty enjoyable read - It almost has an amateurish feel to it with no chapters, and no real event until the last 40 or so pages... And it could really have used a better proofreader than Spell Check (lots of mistakes that wouldn't get picked up ("Their/They're/There" misuse-like things) But even with those shortcomings, I really enjoyed it. He kinda nailed growing up in the Bronx for me... I know he was about 20 years earlier than me, and I lived near the Grand Concourse... But lots of things popped up that I hadn't thought about in years... Like: --The first time sneaking down to the St Pats parade without parents --Drinking while in 8th grade and not being a big deal. --Just hanging on a stoop while people in the building used to yell at you - and the old crusty neighbor who poured boiling water out the window -- only to be retaliated against a few days later by breaking his windows... It's not going to win Book of the Year anytime soon, but it did bring back some great memories... And I'd say it was one of the more enjoyable books I've read lately... Definitely going to get Mr Schindler's other book...

I grew up in the Bronx, New York, at the same time that this coming of age story is set. I find that as I now get older, my heart and mind hearken back to the days of eggcreams and pretzels, and of hanging out on your stoop with a transistor radio tuned into the WMCA Good Guys. The streets, parks, subway and elevated trains were our domain, and we felt like we ruled them. The book Sewer Balls takes you back to a time when life was sweet. I am having my teenagers read it so that they can better understand me and where I came from. Anyone who was ever a teenager will enjoy this book!!

Do you know there really is a place called 238 St. & Bailey Ave. -- and I still live here. There is a Visitation School...The stumps and Pidgeon Park are still there... Steven has immortalized these people, places and events in a loving way. I can't wait to read it again

Vinnie and Whitey take us through the daily challenges and excitement of coming of age in The Bronx. We get to experience the feel of a real neighborhood where people are respected for who they are and not measured by what they have. These fourteen year olds take us on a journey of "first's" that will send your memory reeling. If it has been a while since you thought about your first love, the first beer in the park, the first visit to Yankee Stadium or your first time to the St. Patrick's Day parade be prepared to laugh out loud as you read this book.With great literary style this book will answer questions like,"what were the last latin speaking altar boys of the milenium really thinking about?...Why do kids lie prone in the street coat hangers in hand fishing spauldeens out of sewers?...and finally, why does every apartment building in the Bronx seem to have a maniac patrolling the halls with a baseball bat?"Sewer Balls" captures the joys and sorrows of life in the real neighborhoods of New York. If you are curious about growing up in The Bronx or the Parochial school experience in the 60's this is a must read!

If The Bronx isn't on your travel itinerary, you can still go there in Steven Schindler's terrific first novel "Sewer Balls." Never has a place been rendered in such vivid and quirky detail that you wanted to spend so much of your spare time hanging out on those gritty streets. An hilarious and brilliantly realized portrait of city life in the 60s, by the end of the book you'll feel that Vinny and Whitey were your best friends too. Savagely funny and honest, your heart will ache as you laugh through every page. Only a writer of unique skill can weave several tales of one's personal childhood into something this universal. "Sewer Balls" is so alive and truthful that you can actually smell the pizza wafting in the streets and feel the joy of finding a pristine sewer ball. And if you've never played pin darts, after this book you won't want to start. It is details like this that make this novel an extremely satisfying read. Hey, who woulda thought The Bronx could be this much fun! I can't wait to read Schindler's next book.