What Am I Reading? - Today I Am a Man

I suppose I should remame this post, What was I Reading? cuz I finished this one about a month ago already, but I've been meaning to give it a little love ever since, and not just because I'm a friend of the author.

"Today I Am A Man" is a solid first novel by my friend, Larry Rodness, who, as I understand it, has been wrestling with this story in one form or another for many years, first as a screenplay, then a novel. His ability to find a publisher and get it out there is a testament to his hard work, passion and persistence and I, for one, really apreciate that, considering I have a few similar ambitions of my own.

The story is divided, not-quite-evenly, into two perspectives; that of an adult Steve Goldman, (the main character), following a bold decision to dish out a little street justice on his son's fifteen year-old bully - and the other, that of Steve, the young man, a recipient of bullying himself during an adventrous school year in sunny Califoria in the 1960s.
The majority of the story centres on the latter perspective as we learn Steve's sorted history with bullying and the lingering pain that went with it. By the time we get all the details, adult-Steve's motives for protecting his son at any cost are considerably more clear. The title refers, not only to young-Steve's impending Bar-Mitzvah, but also the journey of a thousand steps every boy must endure to discover what it truly is to be a man in this world - namely, taking responsibility for yourself, standing up for what you feel is right, and facing your own problems with dignity and courage.

I found the book to be a solid read with a few neat surprises thrown in. The prose moves quickly and the balance between the two time-periods was well-paced, creating a sense of urgency that kept me reading.

As I write this, Larry is hard at work on the daunting task of selling books. I had the pleasure of attending his book launch at Indigo Books here in Toronto, where he performed a series of selected readings and book signings. Since then, he's done a few more and is actively pursuing write-ups and reviews from around the country and beyond.
Recently, he was reviewed by The Jewish Tribune. You can read it here: http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201004202899/First-time-novelist-takes-on-bullies.html

Great job, Larry. Keep up the good work and I'll be waiting to read the next one.

D.A.