Take a trip back to the 1960s and experience the significant events of this decade through the eyes of Patrick Hanley - a teenager desperately trying to grow up in a sea of confusion.
Professional Reviews
MacArthur Park: The Novel Review by Dallas Franklin
Book Review by: Dallas Franklin
Word Count: 1042
'MacArthur Park: The Novel' by John Ponton takes you on a tailspin in time to those tumultuous 60s when we were caught up in tender issues like the war in Vietnam, racism, equal rights, abortion, free speech, drugs and everything else that era encompassed. Ponton expertly reminds us of the values we stood up for in a time when the very fabric of America was falling apart at the seams.
The country was divided and everyone was confused and looking for a new perspective for a new America or clinging to the old America with stubbornness and determination. In this novel we are instantly drawn into the life of Patrick Hanley as he becomes of age in a world where he questions these ideals.
Reading this fictional account with factual events I was reminded of how much many things have remained the same since the 40 years it was first tackled. We are still facing these same issues and struggling to come to terms with it all. The war may be a different one but Mr. Ponton shows us the effects of countless casualties and lives turned upside down in turmoil and heartache.
The initial conflict begins between Patrick and his father. They are on opposing ends of what they feel is right and justified. His mother is the complacent one trying to keep peace in the family between son and father while all of them deal with the baggage left over from Patrick's brother's accidental death.
Patrick escapes to the town's park, MacArthur Park to get away from the stress and tension of home life and begins to meet new friends who will tear his own life apart as he learns what is most important to him and his life.
First there's Benny, a young black boy who's dealing with the prejudices of America and his struggle for survival. They have a rocky start as each of them throw insults back and forth showing us the reality of racism on both sides. In the 60s people slashed out at each other without any regard for the effects of loosely thrown slurs against other human beings. Like I said, some things remain the same. Be forewarned, this novel does not sugar up the way things used to be. It hits you in the face and makes you deal with these same issues in today's world.
Patrick and Benny soon become good friends and their friendship is tested many times, especially when the town is torn apart in the decision to allow blacks to integrate in schools where whites are only given the best America has to offer. Benny's father, who wants his son to have the same opportunities as any white man is determined that Benny will get this in no uncertain terms. Of course Benny doesn't want to attend the all white school for many reasons, and thus you have another conflict between father and son.
Enter Betty, the beautiful blue-eyed blonde from California whose family just moved to this northern New York state town. Patrick immediately falls in love with her but being an awkward 14 year old, still unsure of who he is and what he wants doesn't think he has a hope with her against the jocks of his school. But Betty sees a side of Patrick that isn't found in the other boys. She's not only beautiful but smart too and is the first person to make Patrick question the rules and morals of America. Her father, a banker tries to teach his daughter his liberal views all the while complying with those who have their money in his bank. Another conflict is set in motion.
Patrick has to hide his friendships from his father because he would never approve of them. They're on opposite sides of the track and have opposing views of how things should be. This is the same struggle all of them face. But it's not only faced in their immediate families but also among their own peers. Betty's friend, Suzy is also introduced to them when it becomes apparent her hormones dictate her way of life and she's always wanted to 'make it' with a black boy. It's not that simple anymore when Benny and Suzy fall in love and have to deal with their own principles.
And of course there's also Jim, the cousin who has promised Patrick's brother that he would always look after Patrick. Jim is the jock of the school holding down a family tradition of being the favored football player for the school. He is eager to join the war efforts in Vietnam and when he finally gets the opportunity Patrick discovers a first hand account of what's really happening over there.
Mr. Ponton weaves an incredible journey of conflicts, resolutions and truths through all the characters and we question our own values and beliefs throughout the entire book. You are forced to think about it because he brings to life circumstances that we all have to deal with one way or another. Through this trip back in time we discover many things about ourselves.
As the book unfolds there are some questions you wonder about that you may think are forgotten but are answered in the end with a well-sculpted twist. Mr. Ponton holds nothing back. Throughout the book we are taken to a bloody war in Vietnam through flashbacks and even photographs he got from the US Army and other sources. It's an ingenious example of keeping you glued to your seat as you turn each page and wonder how each issue will be resolved.
Whether you lived through the 60s or want to experience them through this book you won't be disappointed. It's a time capsule we all should read to help us deal with these same issues today. You may find some understanding of how the 'others' get their own beliefs and why they stand by them so strongly.
I loved the honesty of this book and Mr. Ponton's writing abilities in taking us through the various lives while dealing with the value of life itself. Here's a book that opens your heart and mind and keeps you enthralled, and I highly recommend 'MacArthur Park: The Novel". It's definitely a 10+!
Rating Scale: 1-10 (10 being the best)
"MacArthur Park: The Novel"- Rating 10+
İ2002 Dallas Franklin
Book Title: "MacArthur Park: The Novel"
Written By: John Ponton
Genre: Fiction Suspense
Publisher: 1st Books Library
PUBLISH DATE: 1998, 2000
ISBN: 1-58820-339-5
Publishing Format: ebook and Paperback
Price: USD $6.95 (electronic format) USD $18.95 (paperback)
Author's Web site: http://www.macarthurparkthenovel.com
Author's email: ponton91252@cs.com
Publisher's Web site:
http://www.1stbooks.com/cgi-bin/1st?partner~1st|type~6|Data1~1959
Author bio:
John Ponton is a baby boomer who grew up in a suburb of New York City. MacArthur Park has been a work in progress for nearly thirty years. Inspired by the words and music of Jimmy Webb's song, the author started writing this novel shortly after its debut performance.
'I remember sitting there watching the television that night in 1969. Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show was a habit. I always checked to see which musical guests were on tap. Jimi Hendrix even showed up one night and blew the house away with just his guitar and amplifier. But on this night an actor, Richard Harris, debuted a song written by an unknown, Jimmy Webb, by the name of MacArthur Park. I never forgot the song and a few days later, inspired by its lyrics, I jotted down the first outline for this novel.'
The thirty-year time span for the creation of this novel has resulted in a somewhat unique way of presenting the essence of the sixties to its readers. 'I believe that everyone has at least one good story to tell. I hope that you find this one to be mine.'
Readers capture 60s life in new book By Ben Stillman Wilmington Star News
John Ponton grew up on Long Island, at Massapequa, N.Y., "just around the corner from Ron Kovic," the Vietnam veteran whose memoir, Born on the Fourth of July, inspired the movie with Tom Cruise.
"His sister Susan used to baby-sit for me, and my brother and I played touch football and stick ball with his brother, Tommy," Mr. Ponton recalled.
Like Ron Kovic, he was a child of the '60s. Instead of Vietnam, however, his life led to Dowling College - where he wrote for the literary magazine while majoring in organic chemistry - and, later, to a career as a Ph.D. - level research chemist, most recently with Wright Corp. in Wilmington.
"I was getting good grades," he said, "and when the (draft) lottery came around, I got a high number," high enough to stay out of the service, he said. "But I had to wonder, what would've happened if I had been one of these other guys?"
That quest, which began in college and continued for 30 years, led to a novel, MacArthur Park, about six young friends navigating that stormy era in American history. Mr. Ponton recently gave a signing for it at Wilmington's Bristol Books. Another is coming up at 5 p.m. July 27 at Books-A-Million, 3737 Oleander Drive.
"The events of the '60s were like an express train, uncontrollably and relentlessly speeding right at you," Mr. Ponton said. "You could try to get out of its way, park yourself in the middle of the tracks and try to stop it, or grab onto it as it zoomed by you and try to hold on for dear life. In any case, there were no easy choices.
"I think a lot of people think this was a bad era, that we made mistakes and that we ought to sweep it under the rug," he added. Yet he believes the '60s left a valuable heritage.
"We need diversity in our culture," he said. "The American way of life accommodates diversity. No other country on earth could've handled this turbulence.
"We're still here. We still have the same form of government. No other country on earth could have accommodated this."
Mr. Ponton said he has the highest respect for the U.S. armed forces. In Vietnam, however, he thinks these servicemen were trapped, fighting a war on terms that made it impossible to win. "It was the veterans, in particular, who said, 'Hey, man, this has got to stop. This was not the war of my father.' "
The tone of the book was set by the Jimmy Webb song MacArthur Park, which became a hit for Richard Harris in 1968. Other song lyrics punctuate the action, from the perspective of the teen-age characters. U.S. Army combat photography and other period photos are woven into the text.
Although he finished the outline of MacArthur Park in college - and made a false start on another war novel - Mr. Ponton finished his first serious draft in 1990, while he was living in Columbia, S.C. Several drafts followed, mostly in longhand on yellow legal pads, often written during visits to Myrtle Beach.
Like other authors, Mr. Ponton - who's lived in Wilmington for the past eight years - collected a large stack of rejection slips. One agent showed an interest in the book but then went out of business. Eventually, he published MacArthur Park as an e-book, then in paperback through 1stBooks Library ("http://www.1stbooks.com/"), a company that specializes in "on-demand" publishing - printing just enough copies as orders arrive online or by mail.
"It's very rewarding, but a lot of work," the author said. "I really appreciated the artistic control. For example, the design for the book jacket was essentially my idea."
War and sweet, green icing By Deuce Niven
Deuce Niven
Editor
Tabor-Loris Tribune.
My Corner/İ2001 Tabor-Loris Tribune/Lyrics in italics
War and sweet, green icing
Itıs been difficult not to think of war in recent days.
Blame MacArthur Park, at least in part. Not the song, the book.
John Ponton, a New York native now living in Wilmington, took 30 years
to write the book after hearing Jimmy Webbıs song sung by Richard Harris.
Harris had a Billboard number 2 hit with the song in 1968, and Donna
Summerıs disco version topped that a decade later.
Iıll confess that Iıve always liked this song. I have no idea why. Its
words make no sense, and Harrisı version has been soundly criticized as over
dramatic pop with way too much classical influence, especially in an
instrumental interlude that stretches nearly a minute and a half.
"MacArthurıs Park is melting in the dark; All the sweet, green icing
flowing down..."
Iım not sure what that has to do with Pontonıs book, published last fall
and available through the 1st Books Library (www.1stbooks.com). In fact the
meaning of Webbıs words have been fodder for debate since he penned them.
"Someone left the cake out in the rain; I donıt think that I can take
it; cause it took so long to bake it; And Iıll never have that recipe
again."
"OK, it may be far out there, and a bit incomprehensible, but that is
what I was trying to get at," Webb said in a 1998 interview. "I suppose the
whole thing was that I wrote the song at a time in the late 1960s when
surrealistic lyrics were the order of the day."
Pontonıs book is more real than surreal, the story of Patrick Hanley, a
teen trying to make sense of the world in the 1960s, when assassinations,
the fight for integration, and war made no sense.
Through family, friends and lovers, Hanley tries to come to grips with
the madness of those days. He discovers loyalty, love, sex, duty, honor, and
death and tries to find meaning in all of these.
Pontonıs narrative is engaging, and I found myself caring about his
characters, cheering them on in good times, saddened by the bad ones.
While MacArthur Park, The Novel tackles issues that defined the 60s, its
central focus is on war. It would spoil the ending to disclose the
conclusion Ponton reaches on Vietnam and the decision young men faced then
on their duty to country.
Duty to country and the tragedy of war are issues that seem in the
forefront again these days.
With the release of the movie Pearl Harbor last week, a barrage of news
stories about former Sen. Bob Kerryıs tour of duty as a U.S. Navy SEAL in
Vietnam, and a moving magazine piece by novelist Pat Conroy, itıs been
nearly impossible not to think of war.
I was privileged to talk with Tabor Cityıs Horace Cox on Monday about
his experience in World War II. His story is elsewhere in this edition, but
I was reminded during our brief conversation that those who fight for our
country give up pieces of themselves in the process.
Many, like Cox, find the fight worth the cost, find this country worth
the sacrifice.
Others, like The Citadel graduate Conroy, once held a different point of
view. Conroy bares his soul in the Forbes article reprinted in the May issue
of Readerıs Digest, and finds that his decision to dodge the draft and
protest the war in Vietnam was the wrong one.
"I understand now that I should have protested the war after my return
from Vietnam, after I had done my tour of duty," Conroy writes. "America is
good enough to die for, even when she is wrong."
-end-
Third Book in Five Book Series - Southern Swallow - a tale of 12th Century China. Li K'ai-men becomes entangled in an intrigue that becomes his undoing.
Shanghai Escapist grabs the faint-of-heart right from the get-go and serves up an ultimatum: What would you do if caught in the same circumstances? From the opening scene, the reader is tossed into the maze of daily intrigue as it existed in 1960s-70
