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Approaching the Speed of Light: A NOVEL
Author:
Lustbader, Victoria
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Class:
Fiction
Age: Adult
Language: English
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LC: PS3612
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ISBN-13: 9780765334909
LCCN: 2012043863
Imprint: Forge
Publisher: Tor Books
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Pub Date: 08/13/2013
Availability: Out of Print Confirmed
List: $24.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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365 pages ; 25 cm
H 9.43",
W 6.42",
D 1.29",
1.24 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's Insight Catalog: Adult
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Bibliographies:
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Awards:
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Starred Reviews:
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TIPS Subjects:
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Psychological Fiction
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BISAC Subjects: |
FICTION / General
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LC Subjects:
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Self-actualization (Psychology), Fiction
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SEARS Subjects: |
Self-realization, Fiction
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Reading Programs: |
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| Annotations |
| Publisher Annotations | 04/09/2013 |
| 'Approaching the Speed of Light' is a story of tragedy and triumph, fragility and strength. Victoria Lustbader's brave narrative shines a powerful light on the lasting damage caused by childhood demons that can prevent a life from blossoming, on the relationships needed to overcome them, and on one man's attempt to solve the elusive puzzle of happiness. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| Booklist | 06/01/2013 |
| Lustbader (Stone Creek, 2008) crafts a beautiful novel about surviving tragedy and overcoming defeat, even when life's demons almost seem indestructible. As a boy, Jody learned life's lessons the hard way, growing up with a lot of pain and anguish until he was adopted at age nine. But now, as a grown man living in early twenty-first-century New York City, Jody still has a hard time getting close to anyone and goes through women as though they were merely candy. Although Jody might seem like the average playboy, all he truly wants is to let go of his past and to find the love that he has never once been able to experience. Gradually, his relationships with women begin to change and deepen, and then he finally meets an older woman named Tess, who is dealing with a painful loss of her own. The two form an incredible bond, one that may help them both heal and possibly bring love into both of their lives. Chesanek, Carissa. 368p. Booklist Online. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2013. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 07/01/2013 |
| Lustbader's angst-ridden novel revolves around a young man with a burning need to resolve his child-abuse-riddled past. Jody Kowalczyk doesn't look Polish like the rest of his family for a good reason: He was born Christopher Cannavarro, the illegitimate son of a 15-year-old Italian girl whose father refused to let her terminate the pregnancy. Unloved by everyone except his Aunt Marie, Chris spends his earliest years hearing from his volatile grandfather how much he is hated and unwanted. His mom, Marian, talks to him as if he is dirt, and, after Marie collapses and dies while teaching him to play the piano, Marian is forced to take custody of young Chris. Enter Scott, a former Vietnam medic and drug addict. After badly injuring the child, Scott waxes remorseful, but the incident sets off a pattern of physical abuse that eventually, after Marian abandons the two of them, results in sexual molestation. Society, his teachers and everyone else in the world appear to be oblivious to the child's searing ordeal, which is told in a series of memoirs written by the older Jody, who tells his story to an elderly Italian woman, Tess. Through Tess, Jody reconnects with Ella, a woman he met as a teenager and has never forgotten, and her young son, Evan. In a distracting and extraneous side story, Jody's adopted brother, Brendan, becomes engaged to a stylish but self-destructive young woman named Fern, who comes between the two men and upsets the fragile balance that has kept them together. Lustbader's graphic tale of abuse won't please readers who prefer the seamier details of their stories on the subtle side, but she nails the mental and physical horrors of living without love, approval or basic comforts. And, although Jody's childhood is over-the-top terrible, few will fail to be moved by the child's plight. Lustbader's refusal to allow Jody any happiness whatsoever will prove a disappointment to many readers. 367pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2013. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 09/16/2013 |
| A young man begins to heal from childhood trauma with the help of a mysterious elderly spiritualist and a beautiful piano teacher. Beyond heartbreaking, this deeply evocative novel tells of young Jody Kowalczyk, who experienced the horrors of mental and physical cruelty from adults, and the deprivation of love and affection, safety and security, self-esteem and nurturing. Lustbader's depiction of Jody's early years is neither delicate nor subtle; his mother's boyfriend used him as a "human voodoo doll, punctured by his love, his rage, his guns...." But one day, while a teen, Jody has a brief, chance meeting in a doughnut shop with a beautiful woman, which propels him toward a new life, and the "promise of hope, rebirth." A decade later, Jody has an ordinary life with a steady job, lovers and a faithful, omniscient dog named Einstein. While on a job site at a seniors' home, Jody meets Tess, whose incredible vision helps Jody call out his demons, and who also leads him to Ella. He and Ella fall in love, helping each other to trust and heal. Lustbader's (Stone Creek) prose is remarkably eloquent as she takes on a wretched subject. She carefully mines Jody's damaged psyche, presenting a vivid and compelling portrait of a child trauma survivor. (Aug.). 365p. Web-Exclusive Review. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2013. |
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9780765334909,dl.it[0].title
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