“My mind, as is often the case these days, was completely empty.” — Jean Shepherd
When I turned 17, I used to go around telling everyone that I was experiencing my “coming-of-age summer.” I despised the expression because it had condescending undertones of sexual awakening, and I feared that if I didn’t say it, someone else would. My summer was filled with all the typical Y.A. elements: new surroundings, different people, and a growth spurt. And naturally, everyone I encountered was only concerned with me and my journey as a hero.
However, I didn’t have much to show for it except for a disastrous haircut at home, a brown paper bag filled with tips from waitressing, and a short-lived friendship with a wanna-be classics professor who temporarily dropped out of school to follow the Dave Matthews Band. Oh, and I did a lot of reading. Mutatis mutandis.
Here are some recommendations for your summer break.
—Sadie Stein
If you are a New Yorker of a certain age, you will be familiar with Jean Shepherd as a beloved radio host, master storyteller, and mysterious prankster. His catchphrase, “Excelsior, you fathead!” became the battle cry for a generation of irreverent youth. Shepherd collaborated with his listeners on a famous hoax to create a non-existent historical novel called “I, Libertine,” authored by a fictitious Frederick R. Ewing. The fans hyped this non-existent book to the point where it became a literary sensation (although in reality, Shepherd and Theodore Sturgeon wrote it).
To everyone else, Shepherd is known as the narrator of “A Christmas Story,” a film based on fictionalized accounts of his childhood in Indiana. While the leg lamp and bunny suit may be clichés in pop culture today, Shepherd’s work still retains its delightful and tangy pleasure. Initially reluctant to write his stories down, Shepherd was convinced by his friend Shel Silverstein to give it a try. “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” is the result and became a bestseller. This episodic novel contains the seeds of “A Christmas Story” and other essays, overflowing with sharp and hilarious writing, and vivid and peculiar images. You will mourn the ten “Christmas Stories” that could have been and savor these written treasures.
Read if you enjoy: “I, Libertine,” “A Christmas Story,” “Goodbye, Columbus,” “This American Life”
Available from: Your local bookstore or library
“On and off, all that sweltering French August, we made ourselves sick from eating the greengages…” This is a vastly different coming-of-age story. Godden’s novel is narrated from the perspective of 13-year-old Cecil Grey, who is left to her own devices with her four siblings in a crumbling house in the Champagne region after their mother falls ill. They become entangled with the lives of the hotel’s proprietor, Mademoiselle Zizi, her charming English lover Eliot, and the various characters in the household. The eldest sibling, 16-year-old Joss, is entering maturity and feeling her newfound power, while the adult reader perceives the dangers and predatory nature that surrounds her.
What starts as a leisurely childhood paradise inexorably tightens into a tense and ominous atmosphere. Godden possesses a remarkable talent for balancing restraint and luridness. Cecil’s precocious yet believably childlike narration contrasts with the surrounding corruption. Published in the 1950s and set in the post-World War I era, the book feels contemporary, addressing matters of sex and queerness matter-of-factly. The prose is sharp and clear.
Read if you enjoy: “The Go-Between,” “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” “Demon Copperhead,” Colette, plums
Available from: Your local used bookstore or library
Why not…
Be cautious with children? All this talk of coming-of-age reminds me of a quote from Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s novel “Some Prefer Nettles,” completed in 1929: “Children remember a great deal, and when they grow up, they start revisiting things and reevaluating them from an adult’s perspective. They will say, ‘It must have been like this,’ and ‘That must have been like that.’ That’s why you have to be careful with children; one day, they grow up.”
Choose names thoughtfully? The other day, I stumbled upon a baby naming book from nearly two decades ago in a Little Free Library. Reader, I was captivated. Alongside the usual names like Jake and Madison, this book included lists of names for “Forensic Scientists,” “Sailors,” “Poets,” “The In-Crowd,” “Dorks,” “Barflies,” and yes, even “Editors.” This goes to show that a book is a treasure and an oddity, a time capsule that should never be overlooked. Always thoroughly investigate any free book you come across.
Let it all out? Zora Neale Hurston’s memoir “Dust Tracks on a Road” from 1942 may not withstand the most rigorous fact-checking. It may even shave 10 years off the author’s age. However, no one can deny that it contains moments about childhood, art, anthropological fieldwork, identity, and fame that are subtly subversive and vivid. Everyone should read it at least once, preferably the newer, unexpurgated versions. Some lines will become lifelong companions. Just one example: “There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.”
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