1967 - a coming of age story

1967 depicts the precarious moment between childhood and adolescence in a thought-provoking fun read that captures the mood of the era. It is a strongly written moving account of a young boy taking his first steps to independence and true sense of self. Set in a small prairie town over a one year period 1967 provides a wonderful portrait of a time and place long gone.Seen from the young boys perspective devoid of reflection the reader is pulled along within the frame of his experience - his point of view his language and his understanding. It becomes clear that the boys growing up has less to do with physical development than with recovering a buried memory.Lacking a real moral centre the main character is an anti-hero but immensely likeable for although he is canny and quick-witted he is nevertheless an innocent child prisoner of his cultural and social-economic class.While 1967 provides a devastating look at an impoverished existence empty of expressed love or gentle guidance the evocative imagery and power that fuels the writing provides vivid proof that one can survive childhood.