August and Then Some: A Novel
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
Twisted bonds between a father and his children lead to revenge and a desperate hope for redemption and forgiveness.
In the heat of August, Jake Terri Savage (“JT”), his little sister Danielle, and his bone-headed best friend, Nokey (nicknamed after “gnocchi”), try to steal JT’s father’s beloved 1965 Shelby Cobra. Their reasons are noble; the consequences,devastating.
JT’s abusive dad’s idea of a twelfth birthday gift is getting his son involved in a barroom brawl. Nokey’s dad thinks he has potatoes for brains. Both sons live out their fathers’ stunted visions in a way that brings down a terrible judgment on them all—leaving JT hauling rocks for punishment while he staves off panic attacks and nightmares about his sister and her terrible half-known secret.
A Dominican teenage girl with little hope for her own future gives JT a second chance to save someone, including himself. Throughout, David Prete’s vivid sense of atmosphere, tight plotting, and crackling dialogue give the dysfunctional family story a new lease on life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his devastating second novel (after Say That to My Face), Prete weaves the events of one steamy New York summer and its aftermath into a story of tragedy and redemption. When 17-year-old JT Savage finds out that his father has been sexually abusing his little sister, Danielle, he and his friend Eugene "Nokey" Cervella try to steal a beloved 1965 Shelby Cobra from the family garage, a doomed bid for revenge with grim consequences. In a parallel narrative, JT flees Yonkers and heads to Manhattan's Lower East Side to work for a landscaping company, and befriends Stephanie, a 13-year-old Dominican neighbor who has "sadness coming off her like heat." As the two forge a tentative bond, the extent of Danielle and Nokey's dire predicaments are revealed. Though the author never shies away from grappling with big issues whether sociological, familial, or emotional , Prete too often falls back on cursing and easy signifying accents to convey a sense of gritty inner-city authenticity, and some of the key relationships lack dimension. Ultimately, JT's reflection "I wonder what ordinary feels like" rings as the novel's most profound statement for a young man whose choices may permanently alienate him from normalcy.
