Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘1960’s’

Beginnings (More)

On Sunday we’ve been doing beginnings – all the Peter Abrahams novels including those written under the Spencer Quinn pen name. Here, from 1992 – REVOLUTION #9 (second of the ’60’s novels, after HARD RAIN).

[“…Charlie’s hunt through the past is an often painful but always gripping story. Abrahams weaves in and out of time and temperament with considerable skill, and reminds us with each plot twist of the damage Vietnam did to the soul of America.” – Chicago Tribune]

The boy was named Ronnie. The only surviving photograph shows him in his batting stance. What can we tell from it? That he hit from the left side. That he wore his hair long, in the style of the time. That he had a solid-looking body, and a reliable-looking face. That there was nothing particularly cute about him – Norman Rockwell would never have put him in the front of a picture. But Ronnie might have appeared in the background, diving into the old fishing hole. And he might have grown up to be quite handsome. Going beyond that would be pure speculation. How much character can be read in the face of an eleven-year-old boy?