Dybek's slightly ahead of my time and I'm from the North Side, but he still writes of a Chicago that I'm so familiar with--and a Chicago that is gone. This is a city of grit and challenge, hard times and scrabbling by. It's a childhood of rough parochial school teachers and a political system that seemed unfathomable.
There's nothing out of place in these stories and each one brings the reader back to a specific place in time when developing as a child.
It's a wonderous read, even for someone from out of town, for Dybek seizes the universal angst of growing up. I tell everyone about his work. ( )

When I say that Dybek is a beautiful writer, it by no means does his writing justice. There are so many scenes in the book that are described with such beautiful detail that I would hang on every word he wrote. I noticed that he has a collection of poetry out there as well and while I am not a fan of poetry usually, his short story writing isn't far from it. It's magical and the city unfolds as the pages turn by. His stories of childhood and living in the city are spectacular and wonderful.

The best story in the book in my opinion was the one called Nighthawks. He talks about hanging out at either the big library downtown or the Art Institute while he is between jobs and the differences between the two. He ends up at the Nighthawks painting by Edward Hopper in the Art Institute and the story that follows is a story of the people within the painting. That painting is my favorite at the Art Institute and I have often wondered about the people in the painting and how they got there. Amazing. And those two little stores were just two within the short story Nighthawks.

I loved this book and have been throwing it at people to read it. ( )

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4... ( )