Thursday, October 11, 2012

Review - The Car Thief



The Car Thief
By Theodore Weesner
Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions
ISBN: 978-1-938231-00-1
ASIN: B00822MZEM
Pub. Date: April 2012
Pages: 400

Review:

Set in Detroit in 1959, sixteen-year-old Alex Houseman is still dealing with the fact that his mother left his father for another man and took his young brother, Howard, with her. Since his parents divorce, his father has been working the night shift at the local Chevy Plant and has become an alcoholic. Alex has been getting in all sorts of trouble. Most recently he has started skipping school and he just stolen his fourteenth car. He gets caught and is sent to a juvenile detention center.

The Car Thief was originally published back in 1972 and was re-released earlier this year. I received a free ARC of the book several months, but the book got shoved around and I just finish reading it today. The book started out slow for me, despite the fact that it is beautifully written, but eventually the story grabbed a hold of me. I kept thinking about how Alex reminded me of myself when I was that age. I didn't get arrested or thrown into a detention center, but I felt lost and confused as Alex was.

Since the book is forty years old, so I'm surprised that I have never heard about it before. I don't want to give away too much of the actually plot, but it is a coming-of-age story, reminding me of the classic The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The book is primarily written for male readers, but some women may enjoy the book too. Overall, I enjoyed reading The Car Thief, which in my opinion the book should be a must-read for high school students. I recommend other readers to read The Car Thief. 




About the Author:

Theodore Weesner was born in Flint, Michigan in 1935 and can be described as a writers' writer - his short works have been published in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, and Best American Short Stories. His novels, The True Detective, Winning The City, Harbor Light have been published to great critical acclaim. Wessner lives and works in Portsmouth, NH and is currently writing his memoir, two novels - "Good Night, Dear Friend's , and a new adaptation his novel called "Winning the City Redux" - which will be published by Astor + Blue Editions.

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