Day: June 21, 2013

Big yard and chair sale in Cambridge, fortunately I had my fisheye lens or I would never have gotten it all in one frame.

The old farmhouse sits at the edge of a cornfield, catching the last light of the day, twilight. A soft color, it evokes time and space in a particular way.

This book review is published in conjunction with Battenkill Books of Cambridge, N.Y., my local bookstore. If you like this review (this is a print only book), please consider buying it from Battenkill. You can call 518 677-2515, order from their website (they take Paypal and ship anywhere in the world) or you can e-mail Connie Brooks at [email protected]. Help support a great independent bookstore, buy local, stave off the Corporate Monster.

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For all those people who lament the struggles of the paperback and for anyone who wants a sweet, sexy, spooky jewel of a book to read this summer, Stephen King has given you a print-only paperback edition of “Joyland,” $12.95 (Hard Case Crime). This is as close to the perfect summer read as you will get, the book is  rich and spooky but in no way horrifying, it is a very touching coming-of-age story with a young hero who is nothing but brave, good and resourceful. You root for him every step of the way.

“Joyland” is the story of Devin Jones, a twenty-one-year-old virgin fresh from a broken heart who leaves his widower father back in the Northeast and heads for North Carolina (the book is set in 1973) to work at the venerable and struggling Joyland Amusement Park. “Jonesy,” as he is soon to be known is not one of those difficult young people. He is polite, empathetic and courteous. Like all sensitive young men, he wants to be a writer. Everyone likes him and sees the good in him. The book evokes an age when kids could go off and have a summer experience that will shape and mold them for the rest of their lives.

King has a blast creating the magical, nostalgic and rich world of the old-style amusement park, the ones driven out of business by the corporate theme parks  in the 70’s and 80’s. King invents his own carny language, some of it real, some of it not and some great carny characters – the wise-cracking but good hearted boss, the mysterious Madame Fortuna, the part phony, part real fortune teller who migrates to Brooklyn off-season and warns him of the dangers he may face that summer.  Devon plunges into this world with abandon, and he soon makes new and good friends, proves himself to the carny old-timers, save’s a girl’s life, befriends a dying boy with psychic powers, falls in love with the boy’s beautiful and over-protective mother.

The story begins with pure nostalgic and carnival adventure and atmosphere (the ferris wheel is the “chump-hoister”), but there is, of course, a shadow, a hint of menace to come. A young girl was murdered in the House Of Horrors some years earlier, the murderer has never been caught, the woman’s ghost is seen in the creaky old funhouse from time to time, she still haunts Joyland, they believe she is trying to get out of the funhouse, and when Devon decides to take a year off from school and work at the amusement park throughout the winter we know he is going to get into that funhouse, try and solve the mystery, and get into trouble. King drops some clues along the way, if you are paying attention you might be able to pick them up yourself. He plays fair with the reader.

King is a masterful story-teller and the plot starts to pick up speed and some edginess throughout the second half of the book, as it becomes clear the murderer may be closer at hand than anyone realized. Devon becomes deeply involved with young Mike and is determined to get him into Joyland for a final fling over the strong objections of his mother, who thinks he is too frail. Devon succeed’s and Mike’s last trip to the carnival is a heart-tugger.

The story is just a delicious and compelling read. King is very restrained in this book, it never gets too gory or too scary, the plot is no more disturbing than one of the softer mystery writers (think Louise Penny), but King evokes the lost world of the carnival and earnest and open imagination of a young man and fuses them together brilliantly. There is a hint of real menace that gives the book some intensity. “Joyland” is an especially good read for women, it is evocative and romantic without being disturbing and King knows how to put a yarn together. “Jonesy” is a sweet kid, you care about him from the first. I recommend it highly. Book lovers who are resisting the e-book revolution can feel good that this one will not be on a Kindle, at least not for awhile.

E-book lovers can get outdoors and buy this one from a bookstore, hopefully Battenkill (518-677-2515). I will be recommending books at Battenkill Saturday (tomorrow) from ll a.m. to noon.

Today the blog is beginning a new weekly feature, the Fromm Food give-a-way. Once a week I will post a topic for the give-away on my Facebook page (for those not on Facebook you can e-mail me at [email protected]) and I will choose one of the replies to win a back of Fromm’s popular duck and sweet potato food for dogs. The food will vary each week. I will contact the winner and you will be sent a voucher for the food, redeemable at most pet food stores.  Fromm has also offered to make one of their nutritionists available once a week to answer questions some of you may have about animal nutrition for your pets, I’ll do that on Facebook. Fromm, a sponsor (the only one) of this blog does not outsource any of their food and have won widespread recognition for their pioneering work in animal nutrition. Fromm is the oldest family-owned holistic dog food company in America, just about the only dog food I would consider sponsoring.

My dogs eat this food and they are all thriving on it, coats, stool, energy and weight. It is very different and they have never had to recall any of their food, as other corporate dog food companies seem to be doing almost daily. You can check out the wide range of Fromm food for dog and cats and also the nutritional information on their website here.

In addition to sponsoring the website, Fromm will sponsor my new podcasts. They will also help in the book tour this Fall for the book on me, Frieda and Maria, “Second Change Dog: A Love Story.” If you buy a copy of this book from Battenkill Book – it is available for pre-ordering, you will also have a chance to win one of 100 bags of free Fromm Food. Fromm supports buying local. Maria and I will also sign any copies of “Second Chance Dog: A Love Story” purchased through Battenkill and since I won’t be touring nationally for the book, this is the best shot at a signed copy if you want one. You can pre-order now through the Battenkill website or call 518 677-2515 if you’d like a shot at the dog food give-away along with a signed and personalized copy of the book. Connie has received nearly 100 orders already, the book is out on November 5.

This feels good to me. A chance to support my work, a great independent bookstore, a great family owned pet food company. The new publishing at its best.