The obstacle course
Description
In a dazzling shift of direction from his New York Times-bestselling first thriller, Against the Wind, J. F. Freedman presents The Obstacle Course, a coming-of-age story that recounts the adventures of a colorful, profane, street-smart, and appealing fifteen-year-old boy growing up in 1957 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Roy Poole has to be smart because he is almost always on his own. His father is a drinker, womanizer, and wife-beater. His mother can't cope with her husband or her children; Roy copes by running with his own gang, whose escapades sometimes border on the criminal. And this young man is eminently available when the girls come after him, which is often. But there is another side to Roy. He builds model ships and regularly hitchhikes to Annapolis to run the Naval Academy's grueling obstacle course.
For Roy Poole's one ambition in life, his consuming dream, is to become a midshipman. One day, like a gift from heaven, Roy meets a retired admiral who also builds model ships. The admiral is immediately attracted to the youngster, and he becomes almost a second father to the boy. Admiral Wells arranges for Roy to be admitted to a military prep school that sends most of its graduates to the Naval Academy. And then, suddenly, Roy's innocence brings about an explosion in this exotic world he has entered. Embittered and lost, Roy strikes out blindly for parts unknown. And on that adventure, particularly in an encounter with members of a black church, people that he, a Southerner in the fifties, has never known except as stereotypes, he begins the process of understanding that offers him a chance for his own redemption.
This powerful and gritty coming-of-age novel will evoke memories of Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn. It also bears comparison to the novels of Pat Conroy. Best of all, The Obstacle Course confirms Freedman's talent for telling a compelling story in a full and rich original voice that marks him as a novelist with a limitless future.
Roy Poole has to be smart because he is almost always on his own. His father is a drinker, womanizer, and wife-beater. His mother can't cope with her husband or her children; Roy copes by running with his own gang, whose escapades sometimes border on the criminal. And this young man is eminently available when the girls come after him, which is often. But there is another side to Roy. He builds model ships and regularly hitchhikes to Annapolis to run the Naval Academy's grueling obstacle course.
For Roy Poole's one ambition in life, his consuming dream, is to become a midshipman. One day, like a gift from heaven, Roy meets a retired admiral who also builds model ships. The admiral is immediately attracted to the youngster, and he becomes almost a second father to the boy. Admiral Wells arranges for Roy to be admitted to a military prep school that sends most of its graduates to the Naval Academy. And then, suddenly, Roy's innocence brings about an explosion in this exotic world he has entered. Embittered and lost, Roy strikes out blindly for parts unknown. And on that adventure, particularly in an encounter with members of a black church, people that he, a Southerner in the fifties, has never known except as stereotypes, he begins the process of understanding that offers him a chance for his own redemption.
This powerful and gritty coming-of-age novel will evoke memories of Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn. It also bears comparison to the novels of Pat Conroy. Best of all, The Obstacle Course confirms Freedman's talent for telling a compelling story in a full and rich original voice that marks him as a novelist with a limitless future.
More Details
ISBN:
9780670853465
Staff View
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 425e9aba-a6e8-34b1-88c1-e2316b0921ec |
---|---|
Grouping Title | obstacle course |
Grouping Author | j f freedman |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-11 07:30:56AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-19 04:55:25AM |
Solr Fields
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0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Freedman, J. F.
author_display
Freedman, J. F.
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Mercer Adult Fiction
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Books
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Book
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425e9aba-a6e8-34b1-88c1-e2316b0921ec
isbn
9780670853465
itype_mercer
BOOK - HARDCOVER
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lexile_score
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literary_form
Fiction
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Fiction
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F Fre
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Mercer Public Library
owning_location_mercer
Mercer Public Library
primary_isbn
9780670853465
publishDate
1994
publisher
Viking
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Action and adventure fiction
Annapolis (Md.) -- Fiction
Teenage boys -- Maryland -- Annapolis Region -- Fiction
Annapolis (Md.) -- Fiction
Teenage boys -- Maryland -- Annapolis Region -- Fiction
title_display
The obstacle course
title_full
The obstacle course / J.F. Freedman
title_short
The obstacle course
topic_facet
Teenage boys
Solr Details Tables
item_details
Bib Id | Item Id | Shelf Loc | Call Num | Format | Format Category | Num Copies | Is Order Item | Is eContent | eContent Source | eContent URL | Detailed Status | Last Checkin | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b11145687 | .i11680945 | Mercer Adult Fiction | F Fre | 1 | false | false | Due May 2, 2024 | Sep 04, 2020 | mrfic |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b11145687 | Book | Books | English | Viking | 1994 | 351 pages : maps ; 24 cm |
scoping_details_mercer
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b11145687 | .i11680945 | Checked Out | Checked Out | false | false | true | false | false | true | 9999 |