Once again I had the wonderful opportunity to not only read a fabulous book but to participate in a tour hosted by Tribute Books.
Today I get to bring you Back To Bataan by Jerome Charyn.
Jerome also graciously agreed to do a little interview for us as well.
New York City, 1943.
War is raging in Europe and the Pacific, while Jack Dalton is stuck
attending Dutch Masters Day School. What Jack really wants is to enlist
in the army, to fight...
Everything changes when Coco, Jack's "fiancee," throws him over for one of his classmates. Jack sees red and does something drastic. Then he runs away. Hiding out in a nearby park, Jack joins ranks with a group of vagrants and is soon under the sway of a man called the Leader, an ex-convict who is as articulate and charismatic as he is dangerous. The Leader turns Jack's world upside down. To put things right, Jack must prove himself a braver soldier than he ever imagined.
Everything changes when Coco, Jack's "fiancee," throws him over for one of his classmates. Jack sees red and does something drastic. Then he runs away. Hiding out in a nearby park, Jack joins ranks with a group of vagrants and is soon under the sway of a man called the Leader, an ex-convict who is as articulate and charismatic as he is dangerous. The Leader turns Jack's world upside down. To put things right, Jack must prove himself a braver soldier than he ever imagined.
Author Interview:
I think it might very well be that it
started with Harry Potter, that young adult writers are trying
to tell good stories and adults have moved into that kind of dream.
- You are the master of writing across a realm of different genres, what excites you about connecting with different audiences?
I’m not so sure that these are
different audiences, I think we all love stories, whether we’re
children or great-grand and when you move from genre to genre you are
still telling a story like Scheherazade and the king is always
waiting for the next tale.
- Your writing is so precise, yet evocative - how do you work at crafting your unique style of prose?
Everything begins and ends with the
word, with the music of the sentence and as Tolstoy once said, “I’m
always composing.”
- Being a published author for nearly 50 years, what do you think of eBooks?
I think that this is a kind of logical
step as we move from the internet into eBooks.
Publishing is changing even as we
speak. I think there now will be a more complicated dance between the
eBook and the printed book, and as we’ve seen recently, successes
in eBooks allow the author to move into print.
- What would be your advice to young people who aspire to a literary career?
It’s not worth the money – only
write if you’re absolutely in love with it.
I think so much of the source of my
writing comes from my childhood, I grew up during the War - so many
of the terrors and the magic of certain films have remained with me.
And all of this appears in the character of Jack.
- Your older brother was a detective. Did your experiences with him influence the plot?
Not really, I think all writing is
crime writing. And Back to Bataan is a crime novel with a very
original twist.
- Why did you decide to include the fascination with the famous as a theme - Gary Cooper, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.?
These people were heroes to me as a
child, particularly Eleanor Roosevelt, who was one of the most
extraordinary women who ever lived, and of course as a child I fell
in love with Gary Cooper’s face and with his very slow drawl, that
seemed so exotic to me.
- Jack finds acclaim through his writing, yet feels guilty for exploiting other people (Mrs. Fink). How does a writer starting out work to bridge this gap?
You’re always cannibalizing other
people and writers when you start to write, so it’s natural that
Jack should be a young cannibal.
- How important is the New York Times in your own life? Why did you decide to make it a form of connection between Jack and the Leader?
As a child, I didn’t even know that
the Times existed – I grew up in a neighborhood without
newspapers and books, so that when I first fell upon the New York
Times, I was very very greedy, and wanted to include it in Jack’s
middle-class life.
Thank you so much Jerome for being here today!!
My Thoughts and Review:
This book surprised me, not only was I
not expecting it to be told from a young boy's perceptive but I also
wasn't counting on it being such an endearing read.
Jack is an eleven year old boy that
wants nothing more than to join the war. A war that took away his
father and has changed his life forever.
I really liked Jack's voice. There was
something so innocent about him.
I really love books that take place
during the second world war. I love learning about that part of our
history and Charyn not only managed to give us historical detail but
also create a story like no other I have read taking place during
this era.
He manages to transport us back in time
to a city and life of an eleven year old boy. with all the confusing
emotions and conflict of not only an adolescent that very much wants
to be treated like an adult but also a world caught up in a war. With
all the devastation, heartache and turmoil that took place for the
people during that time.
Jack learns a lot about choices and
sacrifice and what it really means to be an adult. This was a cute
coming of age story in a time when you had to grow up fast and take
on responsibilities most kids now days don't even have to think
about.
I give this one 3 Stars!
Thanks for stopping by Heidi!!
ReplyDeleteAli, thanks for liking a little something different in the YA genre. Yay! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicole for letting me be apart of the tour!
ReplyDelete