Younger Than Springtime

Younger then Springtime is the second novel in the "O'Malley series by Andrew Greeley. This story is really two love stories, one for Charles, the other for his father John. Charles, now home from the military attempts to get his life together. He makes friends with fellow veterans, gets a job at an accounting firm and prepares to go college. He does well with his new friends, his job and his classes at college. With women, however, he is in trouble. Somehow his family and friends know more than he does about what Chucky needs to do to be happy and well adjusted. Chuck's "love" story is frustrating for him as he often is reluctant to admit his feelings. Chuck establishes his own barrier to his courtships by trying to reason his way through his relationships with women. The other "love" story concerns John, Chucky's father. The story is told through Chucky reading his father's journal about his life thirty years before. John has many barriers to love. He has a vision of the "right" woman and delays courtship until he can find her. John thinks he has found her when he meets his best friend's girl. The tension between John's love and his "honor" to his friend makes a fascinating tale. As a love and courtship story, this is one of the better of Greeley's novels. There are no detailed sexual images. The relationships are realistic but show appreciation for the interactions between the genders. Younger than Springtime is a family story. The O'Malley family are people who seem to respect and love one another. Their life together is filled with humor and self regard. This novel provides a positive example of family life, not idealistic like "The Cosby Show", or "The Brady Bunch", but authentic and loving - a family with problems they handle with love and respect. The O'Malleys are people that listen to one another and accept each other. This is a fine novel that I recommend for the family life alone.

Is Williams a mind reader or a prophet? While his lite tome was sizzling in suburban salons, those closest to him rode the railfence of curiosity - wondering if he was telling their story... or scripting it. Summers are hot enough in South Carolina; page 85 didn't help matters when frisky flirtation turned ardor turned... the other Letter A. Whether it was suggestion or stimulation, Williams, and those leggy lovelies who adore him, caused a ruckus that not even the ... profs at Clemson could have calculated. Predictive or Prescient, he was killing her softly with his words. Know what I mean?

Sorry but I disagree with Lombard, Illinois-this was a very fast read-I finished it in 2 days. The pages couldn't turn fast enough for me to keep up with Chucky & the rest of the O'Malley family. The 2nd half of the book, John's Love Story was really moving-how Chuck's father, John The Evangelist O'Malley(yes, it was his middle name)met & fell in love with the good April, who it turned out was supposedly "engaged" to Jim Clancy, who would become the lowlife father of Chuck's true love, Rosemarie. John's Story takes place from 1918-1925 & is an integral part of the O'Malley legend. If you've already read A Mid-Winter's Tale, scoop this one up fast & you'll be caught up in it in no time. Can't wait for the next installment, which I've no doubt should be out sometime next year.