A superb, heartfelt novel about coming of age and the development in oneself of simple human decency. Richard Price really is, as my pal Jerry perceptively put it, incapable of writing a dull sentence. Very highly recommended.

Read this many years ago (in my twenties) and wanted to see what it was like at my now-advanced age of 53, especially as I had just purchased a new re-issue for my son. It was a gripping, gritty novel as I remembered with the same inevitable swirl of events toward darkness that I find in Russell Banks, Richard Yates, and a few others...yet retaining a belief (a la Faulkner, Steinbeck) in the inherent dignity of human beings in painful situations. At least I think so... ( )

Having read some of his later books, I found it interesting to read this earlier book. The story was simpler than his later work but the great dialogue was evident but not at the level of "Lush life". His portrayal of the Bronx tells of a life that I know exists but I have not experienced. This is the part that I like best about books. I recommend Richard Price to everyone. ( )

This book is about an eighteen year old boy named Stony who is going through a tough time. He wants to work with children at a hospital, but his father wants him to be an electrician just like him. I liked it because some of the problems Stony went through I could relate to. ( )