Synopsis
1968. Steve’s older brother has just broken the news that he’s quit college to enlist in the army. Before David departs for Vietnam in September, their father decides to send the brothers on a canoe trip down the Susquehanna River. Steve knows that David isn’t happy about the plan, and he’s not looking forward to being trapped with his swaggering, tough-guy brother either. “Look out for each other!” is the last thing they hear Dad shout as they round a bend out of sight, David in the rear, controlling the canoe. At first narrow and quiet as a stream, the river soon grows wider and more complicated, carrying the boys through gritty small-town America on a journey that pushes their adversarial relationship into new territory. There is no map or guide for this trip: just two brothers going forward, navigating the twists and turns of the river, learning to fight for each other.
In this lyrical first novel, Don Brown tells the powerful story of two brothers coming of age in a challenging time.
Publishers Weekly
In Brown's (Alice Ramsey's Great Adventure) brief, straightforward first novel set in the late 1960s, 14-year-old Steve and his older brother, David, canoe down the Susquehanna River at their father's insistence, shortly before David ships off to Vietnam. As they travel, they battle nature-rain and lightning, a fallen tree, raccoons ransacking their food supplies-and sometimes each other. They also encounter an array of people in the towns they pass, from a Dairy Queen owner who once rowed the river himself, to a carnie who recruits them for a day. Many of these strangers share their own war stories or their thoughts about Vietnam, and David gradually reveals his own complicated position ("Maybe trying to keep your ass from being blown away is smarter," David admits about draft dodgers). A run-in at a general store brings the Vietnam controversy sharply into focus, as WWII vets first subtly imply that their war was more important than David's, then physically intimidate the brothers. Even readers unfamiliar with the debate will be able to relate to Steve's difficult relationship with his brother (who often dismisses him as " `bozo,' `jerk,' or `loser,' ") and will understand how much it means when the siblings' relationship deepens during their two-week trip. Some of the musings seem too scripted (e.g., "Vietnam didn't scare David, or so he said, but was he telling me the truth? Was he telling himself the truth?"), but overall, Brown paints a convincing picture of brotherly bonding and of a complex era. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.