Tag Archives: fathers and sons

Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Posted on April 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? A Memoir of Learning to Believe You’re Gonna be Ok© 2020 Sean Dietrich261 pages A memoir about a boy growing up in the deep shadow cast by his father’s suicide has no right to be … Continue reading →

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The Other Side of the Bay

Posted on March 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of the Bay© 2014 Sean Dietrich177 pages There’s a broken down  truck in the woods holding three men,  two drunk brothers and a passed-out football has-been.   By morning, the truck will be discovered in perfect working … Continue reading →

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The Job

Posted on July 15, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Job: True Tales from a New York City Cop © 2015 Steve Osborn 272 pages Steve Osborn grew up by his father’s side in a bar, standing on boxes to play pinball and idolizing the men his father hung … Continue reading →

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East of Eden

Posted on July 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

East of Eden© 1952 John Steinbeck580 pages Why did Cain kill Abel?  East of Eden explores that question via a family saga, one that stretches across North America, spanning the continent as well as the generations;  a story that begins at … Continue reading →

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The Promise

Posted on April 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Promise © 1969 Chaim Potok 336 pages Growing up is never easy, but for Orthodox boys in the mid-20th century, it’s especially hard. The Jewish people are in turmoil after the horrors of the Holocaust, some pinning their hopes … Continue reading →

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The Kite Runner

Posted on October 7, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Kite Runner © 2003 Khaled Hosseini 400 pages . The Kite Runner is a stirring story of betrayal and redemption set in Afghanistan as the country is destroyed through revolution, war, and the takeover by Taliban militias.  The novel … Continue reading →

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Armada

Posted on April 9, 2015 by smellincoffee

Armada© 2012 John Stack400 pages It is the 16th century, and a crisis looms for England.  Spain, who thanks to the plunder of the New World and its Hapsburg connections, is Europe’s heavyweight and the declared enemy of England, threatens war. Spanish … Continue reading →

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Come Rack! Come Rope!

Posted on April 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

Come Rack! Come Rope! © 1912 Robert Hugh Benson 424 pages Dear Miss Manners:       My father, having long been both a leader of resistance against religious tyranny and an inspiration to his countrymen, has surrendered most abjectly … Continue reading →

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The Chosen

Posted on April 1, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Chosen © 1967 Chaim Potok 288 pages Danny and Reuven are two Orthodox Jewish boys who take one thing very seriously: baseball.  When their rival schools meet on the baseball diamond, religious passion turns play to war, and an … Continue reading →

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