Book: American Boy by Larry Watson

I like novels that are of a piece, with a beginning, a middle and an end. This is a fine novella in that regard.

It begins on Thanksgiving of 1962 in a small Minnesota town. Matt Garth and Johnny Dunbar are best friends. They are teenagers. Johnny's family is upper class; Matthew's father has died and his mother is a waitress. Matt spends most of his time with the Dunbars and then something happens. A young woman gets shot. Dr. Dunbar takes care of her and the story is set in motion. Along the way are vignettes of growing up in the 60s in a small midwestern town.

A few random examples (not especially germane to the story) of Mr. Watson's writing:

"Mr. Veal was a demanding, difficult teacher, and it was rumored that his high standards had put his job in jeopardy. The high school principal, Mr. Linton, had supposedly reprimanded Mr. Veal for the many low grades he dispensed...when a teacher failed...the daughter of the principal...or Bobby Karlstad, the son of the school board president, then that teacher had to be reined in."

"Eventually I settled in a parlor on the main floor, where earlier the entire family--the Dunbar family plus Matthew Garth, that is--had gathered before a small fireplace to take in the doctor's stories of how deep the snows of his childhood had drifted and how far into spring the lakes and rivers remained locked in ice. With the room to myself that night, I sat in the big overstuffed armchair that the doctor had occupied, and tried to situate myself in the chair such that my boy's body could feel and fill the indentations Dr. Dunbar's weight had made in the cushions."

Running like fine rich threads through the fabric of this story are these evocative little passages that make this novel worth reading.