3.0
Bluesman
ByPublisher Description
“A gentle and winning” historical novel from the author of House of Sand and Fog and a “sympathetic and compassionate chronicler of ordinary lives” (Publishers Weekly).
It is the summer of 1967 and Leo Suther is about to turn eighteen. This is the summer that everyone has something to teach Leo. His father warns him that “life can turn on a dime.” Allie, his girlfriend, wants to teach him about love. Her father, the local communist and civil rights organizer, lectures him on politics and carpentry. And Ryder, a family friend, wants to show Leo the magic of the harmonica—harp of the blues.
However, when Leo’s life threatens to come unglued, it is his mother’s wisdom he turns to. Though she died before Leo was five, her voice lives on in her diaries and poems, testifying to the strength of her love for her husband and son—a love that can still, years later, offer consolation.
“Dubus captures well those small, mundane moments upon which lives really turn, and he captures too the enthusiasms and confusions of adolescence confronting adulthood.” —Library Journal
It is the summer of 1967 and Leo Suther is about to turn eighteen. This is the summer that everyone has something to teach Leo. His father warns him that “life can turn on a dime.” Allie, his girlfriend, wants to teach him about love. Her father, the local communist and civil rights organizer, lectures him on politics and carpentry. And Ryder, a family friend, wants to show Leo the magic of the harmonica—harp of the blues.
However, when Leo’s life threatens to come unglued, it is his mother’s wisdom he turns to. Though she died before Leo was five, her voice lives on in her diaries and poems, testifying to the strength of her love for her husband and son—a love that can still, years later, offer consolation.
“Dubus captures well those small, mundane moments upon which lives really turn, and he captures too the enthusiasms and confusions of adolescence confronting adulthood.” —Library Journal
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3.0

Sort of Tall
Created 6 days agoShare
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Maura Harper
Created about 3 years agoShare
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“Challenge: The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge
Title: Bluesman
Author: Andre Dubus III
Favorite Quote: "Real waiting is doing absolutely nothing until what is expected happens."
This story was written in a very visual way. The scene setting and movement of the characters allowed me to read as if I was watching a movie. This coming of age story takes place in a short time frame, just a tick on the protagonist's lifeline.
An enjoyable read which I recommend.”

Samantha Greenya
Created over 3 years agoShare
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BS3018
Created almost 11 years agoShare
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Tyler Anderson
Created about 11 years agoShare
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About Andre Dubus
Award-winning author Andre Dubus (1936–1999) has been hailed as one of the best American short story writers of the twentieth century. Dubus’s collections of short fiction include Separate Flights (1975), Adultery & Other Choices (1977), and Dancing After Hours (1996), which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Another collection, Finding a Girl in America, features the story “Killings,” which was adapted into the critically acclaimed film In the Bedroom (2001), starring Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, and Marisa Tomei.
Other books by Andre Dubus
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