Seth is a young boy who does not fit in anywhere. He is severely punished for the smallest of errors by his father a neurosurgeon. Seth’s mother is a socialite who drowns her problems in pills and alcohol. The father decides he cannot deal with Seth anymore and sends him to live with his paternal Grandmother. Seth’s Grandmother is more patient than his parents were. Seth becomes friends with a family down the street and falls in love with their daughter Amy. When grandmother dies of a stroke, he returned to his emotionally distant family.
In high school, Seth discovers he has talents in swimming and selling drugs to his friends. Seth decides he needs $10000.00 to find Amy who has moved to California. He makes friends with Jon who makes money organizing street fights between homeless men and taking bets. The two become friends and through their illegal activities, Seth saves up the money to leave on his journey to find Amy.
“The disturbing results of his quest will haunt the reader.”
“A mesmerizing tale of teenage disillusionment.”
“Gerardo’s 21st Century writing style delivers sucker punches.”
“Seth McGrath charms with dark forces
and flies in the face of every coming of age story.”
Excerpt
Previously he had no pattern for love or affection to trust. The old woman teaches him some simple introductions to connect and make friends. He calls her Grandma Saint of the softened butter to himself before he goes to bed. She does not hear him say this nor does she realize he barely sleeps on his mattress because he often is half on the floor. Grandmother keeps real butter on the kitchen counter, the smell permeates the house as if something is always cooking. It sits inside a cozy porcelain Lenox container that has a four-leaf clover on the lid. His mother never has real butter in the house, as they only use margarine.
Professional Reviews
A Stunner of a Story
Ms. Gerardo has developed a new style in this thrilling coming of age novel. Seth McGrath is an anti-hero. He comes from a dysfunctional family who fails him in every way. The story is begins in 1965 Philadelphia where Seth is sent away to live with a Grandmother who is the first person to show him love and kindness. Just went we feel he will be healed from his ADHD or madness, one cannot diagnose his problems as we experience the narrative as voyeurs, just as Seth is disconnected from humankind. Still we cannot look away, therefore we follow his journey when he decides he has found the girl he will marry. When he is ripped away from a peek at happiness and thrown back into darkness Seth makes every bad choice. He organizes illegal fights with homeless men for money, he sells drugs, he steals and lies to everyone around him all with the goal to raise enough money to find his true love. Literary, poetic and filled with passages that will keep you in the magic. This is not a book for young teens but young men and men who like Palachnuik or Ellis might connect with the violence that is described in elegant language. A Stunner of a story.
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'Coruscated Confabulations' is a collection of stories and experiences, most of which took place in prior decades. They are taken from or based upon real events, with a certain admixture of fictional embellishments.
