If you like baseball, and if you like stories about 1940s Brooklyn, then Last Days of Summer, by Steve Kluger, is a book I recommend.

The book involves the relationship between a Jewish boy named Joey Margolis and a baseball player named Charlie Banks during World War II. Joseph is the one who initiated their relationship by writing Charlie a letter. The story shows how the relationship develops between Joseph and Charlie, a relationship that began as an annoying thorn, from Charlie’s perspective, to one of a deep bonding and friendship. The exchange of letters between the two includes extremely coarse language, and if you can get past it, the book is worth reading, in my opinion.

I found the format of the book interesting, and thought it worked well. The story is told through letters, report cards, newspaper articles, notes, telegrams, baseball statistics, posters, and other forms of written and visual communication. It is a unique way to tell a story, and in this case, a wonderful structure in which to detail events that occurred during World War II. The newspaper articles encapsulate major moments of the war, and moments of Charlie’s baseball career.

Within the pages the reader is given a look at life in 1940s Brooklyn, including the prevalence of gangs and their leader bullies, and how they interact within the Jewish community. Religious prejudice reigns strong throughout the story, yet that prejudice is the glue that holds the friendship between Joey and Charlie together.

Joey will stop at nothing in order to try to convince Charlie to take him on a road trip. He is a precocious boy, and a letter writer to the extreme, writing everywhere in order to gain information on Charlie. Joey is not only eager, but a liar, conniver and schemer. He even writes to President Roosevelt in his quest to garner attention. His quest is his prime objective, and his life revolves around his desire for that road trip.

Kluger evokes emotion within the pages of Last Days of Summer. The story is humorous, but also poignant. It is an emotional telling of life during 1940s Brooklyn, when young Joey was searching for a father figure. It is his coming of age story, yet it is so much more than that. Kluger depicts the evolving of a deep and lasting friendship, and portrays characters that are realistic. Although Joey’s strong-willed actions at times seem a bit over the edge, one can envision those actions occurring.

Steve Kluger’s Last Days of Summer is a well-written book, one that unique in its format, and one that I highly recommend. It is a story not only of Joey’s coming of age, and not only of the friendship between Joey and Charlie, but also a story about family, and who we choose let into our family stronghold. Family is not just about blood relations, but also about those we feel comfortable with, those we feel a strong bond with, those we choose as family members. If you can get past strong and coarse language, then I think you will enjoy this heartfelt book.
~~~~~~
© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.

Sunday August 16, 2009 – 26th of Av, 5769

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• About « Jew Wishes
• Welcome to my world of Jew Wishes
• On: Jew Wishes Anniversary, One Year Today
• happy friday!