Tom Mendicino

Thanks to Goodreads and the author for a free copy of this book!

The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter is a beautiful -- and beautifully written -- look at the bond between two brothers, explored through their childhood and their adult lives.

I'm a sucker for books about the impact of family throughout a person's life. And I'm also a sucker for books where the main character grows up in a neighbourhood like Little Italy. So, I knew, even before I started reading this book, that I would love it. show more The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter did not disappoint.

I will say that I would have loved this book more had it been two books. And I know that seems a little weird, but hear me out:

There are two storylines involved. One of them is about, as you've probably guessed, two brothers in Little Italy, family, sexuality, growing up. The other is a gripping story involving the same brothers and a body in the freezer.

Both of these are well done... it's just the switching back and forth between them that was hard to get used to.

If there had been an entire book with the body-in-the-freezer plot, I wouldn't have been able to put it down. A whole book with the childhood plot? I would have adored even more.

Overall, though, a wonderful read. show less

Following an indiscretion at a rest area Andy, a married man of about forty years, finds himself sentenced to a years probation. His wife, with the active backing of his father in law kicks him out and he moves back to live with his widowed mother. Over the course of the year we follow Andy through the regular counselling that is part of the terms of his probation with a doctor/priest. He has to contend with his antagonistic sister, the failing health of his mother, and his own inclinations show more which drive him towards one night stands with other men. But it is not all despair for Andy as his cousin's teenage son comes out to him and needs his help, and he may even have an admirer.

What is most notable about Probation is the quality of the writing, making it a pleasure to read for this alone. The main character Andy is not so easy to like at first, but one warms to him over the course of the novel despite his failings. show less

I felt such sympathy AND empathy for Andy in the hard place he found himself in. That wasn't what I expected. I thought I'd identify more with his wife, because she was the "innocent" one in the marriage. But there's always more than one side to the story, and so it is with Andy and Alice. Did she know? Or at least suspect? I could never decide. Their marriage was as happy as one could expect it to be when one partner is withholding such a big part of himself.

I loved the relationship show more between Andy and his therapist Matt who was also a priest. I couldn't help but be angry with Matt because he left abruptly, though.

The story was the kind that I want to believe led to a happy ending. But I don't think anyone but Alice got that happy ending. I hope that all the things Andy went through helped him "find himself" one day. show less

I felt such sympathy AND empathy for Andy in the hard place he found himself in. That wasn't what I expected. I thought I'd identify more with his wife, because she was the "innocent" one in the marriage. But there's always more than one side to the story, and so it is with Andy and Alice. Did she know? Or at least suspect? I could never decide. Their marriage was as happy as one could expect it to be when one partner is withholding such a big part of himself.

I loved the relationship show more between Andy and his therapist Matt who was also a priest. I couldn't help but be angry with Matt because he left abruptly, though.

The story was the kind that I want to believe led to a happy ending. But I don't think anyone but Alice got that happy ending. I hope that all the things Andy went through helped him "find himself" one day. show less