The Wizard of Loneliness
by John Nichols
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Description
It's World War II, and young Wendall Oler has been sent to stay will his father's family in rural Stebbinsville, Vermont. Using this opportunity to act out his resentment for the death of his mother and his father's leaving to fight in the war he does all he can to tyrannize his new family. Yet, thrown into the warmth of this country family, Wendall finds his resolve softening.Tags
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Enjoyable. Wendall does all he can to act out his resentments when he is sent to live with his dad's family during WWII. Wendall is angry at the death of his mother and mad because his dad has left to fight in the war. Wendall comes around eventually through the love and warmth of his kin. This book was made into a movie and I would be interested in watching it. It would be nice after visualizing Stebbinsville, Vermont, to see how they portray it.
After the New Mexico trilogy, which I loved, I started reading Nichols' other books. Most have been disappointing. This is a great one, if somewhat melencholy ...
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Author Information
20+ Works 2,648 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1966
- People/Characters
- John T. Wendall Oler
- Related movies
- The Wizard of Loneliness (1988 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- I am fourteen years old in Virginia. It is about to storm, and one of the goats has broken loose. I am chasing her. I hate her, and by this time, having failed in every way to entice her into my grasp, I am panting, red, a... (show all)nd screaming in exaqsperation, but nobody pays any attention to me. Mother is out back, picking ripe fruits off the pear tree, collecting them in her skirt, because, "If I don't pick them, the storm will ruin them." she says, and, needless to say, we all think she is crazy. Tim is in the kitchen fixing something like blueberry pancakes with mustard and honey sandwiches on the side, but then, he is only five and a half. Dave, who is well into his seventh year, is repairing the lower right-hand pane on the front door, while at the same time trying to read a Black Beauty novel lying open on the floor beside him. Mother blew up at him a little while ago and slammed the door so hard the pane toppled out. That makes the fifth time this summer same pane every time. Dad is sitting on the porch ignoring us all, playing his guitar and singing bawdy French ballads, and sipping a beer. If I go up to him and say, "Pop, why can't we just let the damn thing run loose?" he will answer: "Are you tryin to teach your old man how to suck eggs?" Clouds are dark and it looks like a good blow. The goat winks at me and cavorts away, and I collapse and bang my fists on the lawn, and begin to bawl insanely. Later, after some thunder and a stiff wind, it is only raining. The main house is small, so I sleep in a big outside storage shack called the Tumble. I am surrounded by chicken dung, moth-eaten clothes, trunks full of old letters, and ragtag Christmas ornaments. I have my own corner with a bed, a bureau, a rug, and a chair. The door is open and I am alone. It is dark. In a moment the rain will stop, and the smell of dying roses will come over from the house. Fireflies will dot the warm night; a few may even be blown into me by a stray breeze. I sit quietly on the damp threshold of my Tumble kingsom, looking at the darkened house where my family is sleeping and that was eleven years ago, and it was the last summer we were all together. This book, then, is for Mother, Tim, Dave, and Dad.
- First words
- John T. sat easdy on his motorcycle, and he wondered if his nephew, soon to arrive on the afternoon train, was really as big a pain in the neck as certain relatives had painted him up to be.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He felt certain that with time he would get used to it, and he felt supremely confident for a moment, but not because he had suddenly become a man; it was rather as if, at long last, he had succeeded in opening wide the door to his waning childhood.
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Statistics
- Members
- 82
- Popularity
- 386,771
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 7
