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Loading... Goldengroveby Darryl Ponicsan
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THE LAST DETAIL was based on Ponicsan's experiences in the Navy. GOLDENGROVE is obviously drawn from his several years of teaching in public schools, and he's got the types down pat. I found myself alternately chuckling and wincing, remembering my own teaching days. In fact I was still teaching when I first read this book, more than fifty years ago. In the interval, long out of print, it's lost none of its charm as a tragicomic tale of a sensitive, unhappy guy trapped in a job and a marriage, with no relief in sight. And the ending is still a shock, although, as our hapless hero himself comments, "That's about right."
One of Ponicsan's strengths as a writer is dialogue (indeed he spent nearly thirty years as a screenwriter in Hollywood) and it shines here, making GOLDENGROVE a perhaps less cerebral, snappy cousin of John Updike's THE CENTAUR (also about a put-upon high school teacher). GOLDENGROVE is a quick read, and a good one. I loved it all over again. Fifty years on, Ponicsan remains one of my favorite writers. Very highly recommended.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )