Eddie's Bastard: A Novel

It's extremely rare that you come across a first novel that is as good
as this one is. The quality of the writing certainly doesn't betray
that fact, and I found myself having to be reminded it WAS a first novel
as I read. The storyline is intriguing and it unfolds as naturally and
beautifully as a morning glory. This guy is good, folks.

It's not often that I read a book with characters so well fleshed out
that I know they will stay with me forever, but this one certain fits
that description. It's written with such a straightforwardness and such
talent that I'm honestly impressed with Mr. Kowalski's skill. There are
places where it is almost lyrical, but always real. These characters come alive
almost instantly, which is rare for me in a novel show more (especially a first
novel!) and even upon their introduction, I felt I knew these folks, had
met them myself in my own life a time or two.

As you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's really
just about life and a small boy finding out who he is, one tiny piece at
a time, but it drew me in from the first few pages and I was sorry to
see it end. It's a good one and I honestly
can't find a flaw in it, so it gets a 5. show less

This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel about a young man coming of age, raised by his alcoholic grandfather. His father a war hero, his mother abandoned him and disappeared, the protagonist deals with life's deck of cards in a small town. The writing is good, there are nuggets of philosophy, but it's just a really good story, well told and unique enough to hold your interest.

(Book 14 in the 2005 book challenge)

I picked this up after reading an article on the author. This is a story of a young boy who is raised by his eccentric grandfather, and it's all caught up in the boy's family history, with different stories about various ancestors coming into play throughout the book. There were a lot of things I liked about this book, I quickly got very caught up in the characters and was always focused on what was going on because I cared about what happened to them. It was a bit uneven though, much of the plot was overly-contrived, and not in that quirky John Irving/Richard Russo thing where it's so contrived it circles back around to clever. It's one of those books that has what I call "convenient child abuse" -- show more you know, where a character needs to have certain qualities, and the easiest way of getting there is having that character be abused as a child, because that wraps up it all up in a nice package. There were also a few very thin plot points that were key to major parts of the novel, so that's always disappointing. You know, I'm going to stop here, because the book was really better than I am making it sound.

Grade: B+
Recommended: This is a first novel and I liked it enough that I would read more of this author, although I would expect him to improve. Not bad if you are a reader who is willing to gamble on lesser-knowns in the hopes that they might be up-and-comings. show less

a very strong novel about a boy growing up with his grandfather - through whose love the boy's character develops. billy also hears all of the family stories, since he is the last one, in order that he can pass the history along to his own family one day. billy is smart, opinionated, and stands up for what he believes in.

Ross McGee
EDCI 5120
Kowalski, W. (1999). Eddie’s bastard. New York: Harper Collins

Grade Levels: 10-12
Category: Contemporary Realism
Read Alouds: 1-9 (Billy explains the situation of his birth), 135-161(Billy’s grandpa explains erections and testosterone), 279-288 (Doctor Connor’s letter explains how Billy came into this world).

Summary: Billy Mann is dropped on his grandfather Tom’s doorstep as a newborn. The once great Mann dynasty in Mannville is coming to an end and his grandfather sees this as his opportunity to raise one last great “Mann” and have him change the perception of his family. Despite a strange upbringing, Billy learns about life and morality from his grandfather. An eventual coming of age story, Eddie’s show more Bastard ends with the death of Billy’s grandfather and the beginning of life without him.

Themes: One theme in Eddie’s Bastard is that a reputation is a hard thing to change. Tom used to be the pride of Mannville before the Ostrich fiasco and becomes the laughing stock of the town. He tries so hard to make Billy hate the town for shaming him and yet wants desperately to return to the days when he was revered by all Mannville’s inhabitants. Another theme is that there are a multitude of ways to raise a child, each of which has its pros and cons. One would think that after the way in which Billy was raised, he would have turned out to be a lunatic, and yet he is a thoughtful, caring, well adjusted child. He saw through his grandfather’s cynicism and into his heart, which was inherently good.

Discussion Questions:
Is it important who Billy’s mother was? Would it be to you if you were Billy?
Was Billy’s grandfather as crazy as everyone in the town thought he was? Support your answer.
What unique comparisons can you make between Billy’s childhood and your own?

Reader Response: Eddie’s Bastard was a very interesting read and yet I don’t know if it would be good for a secondary classroom. There were several adult situations that Billy went through and the language was also written for adults. I personally liked the book, however, and thought it was not only well written but well thought out in terms of the story line. Billy’s grandfather was a one of a kind character, I knew it from the beginning when he took Billy to Doctor Connor and told him to “give him a once over and see if he needs a tune-up, I aim to keep him.” Funny but also heartbreaking, this novel kept me interested, although in terms of a young adult novel it didn’t really address any current themes that young adults go through, not in a way that encouraged growth anyway. It was entertaining, and I guess that’s about it. show less

Great book!!! Mr. Kowalski tells stories in the same way that Jonathan Hull does, in fact the relationships between his two main characters, Billy and his grandpa, reminded me a lot of some of Hull's characters. I picked the book up when I was at the library, simply looking for anything to read since nothing I had ordered was available yet, and its really a great read! It's a wonderful thing to finish a book and want to applaud! (Of course, that means that the next 4 books I read will probably pale in comparison.....)

Readers are vaulted in the life of Billy Mann as he is deposited on the doorstep of his grandfather’s decrepit estate in New York state. We follow Billy’s twist and turns from his infancy to his childhood to his teenage years. He experiences the usual items and chaos that occur to any male during that period of life but he also must endure questions about his troubled background, which make for a gripping drama.

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