Somewhere down that crazy river

Essential summer reading

Bed-ridden and tonsillitis-riddled, the last few days have been a drag. But, my worry that I hadn't posted anything for days has been piercing deeper and deeper, like a thorn in my side. So, dear reader, this is my offering to you today. You absolutely have to read this book. Not only is it beautifully written, bursting with lush quotes that will remain with you like storybook-relics of your childhood, it acts as a metaphorical time-machine, transporting you and dropping you smack-bang in the middle of your youth. Not a fan of chick-lit myself, this book's sense of adventure and boyish menace is so refreshing; I was instantly won over by this introductory quote that sits at the end of chapter two, which still remains one of the most exciting pieces of prose I have ever come across;

"School had been out for a week now, and our whole summer lay ahead of us. All was right with the world. It was a warm night and smelled of fresh-cut grass and gasoline. Above us, a diamond sky about to burst. Behind us, the worries and cares we shed as we ran. Ahead, the wonder and magic this summer held. Our hearts were pounding- about to burst, it seemed. We ran across our town. Into the night. As if we were trying to catch a train. Or a ghost. Perhaps even life itself. 

We ran."

-River Season, by Jim Black