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David And Other Stories by Eddy Arnold E-BookTime
book review by Barbara Deming
"I wanted her to remember me because of me."
Glimpses of adolescent apprehension open the door to this engaging collection of short stories. Written in first-person through several characters, these tales offer a view of childhood buddies, Tom, Nabel, and James, which include growing up with a drunken father and a forgiving mother; losing friends, Orbie and Rolando; the tart taste of love for cute girls and forbidden fruit, married Catherine; and a picture of a special teacher who understood a tormented soul, even in a boy who acted in one of her plays with unusual spirit and imagination.
Memory, especially of growing up, can be very illusive. Though written as fiction, this collection reads more like the truth of the quirky, sensitive, funny, sensual reality of any boy sometimes struggling and often embracing the throes of puberty. Just when the reader thinks youthful blunders are the norm, the author's mature voice appears and leads into a sometimes painful, often poignant, and always lyrical exposure of the inner self.
Eddy Arnold's deceptively simple prose reaches a place most have not the courage to examine: forgotten youth, instances of shame, and regrettable failure to others and self. His ability to connect to the past—to his youth and the angst found there—is perfect. This author is one to look forward to reading in future books, but be forewarned: He will bring readers to the brink of discovering the true person he has become.