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Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Book Review: The Greater Massapequas
The Greater Massapequas by Richard Daub Genre: Literary Fiction / Short Stories ISBN: 9781946094087 Print Length: 294 pages Reviewed by Erin Britton All human life is here in Richard Daub's The Greater Massapequas, a collec…
All human life is here in Richard Daub's The Greater Massapequas, a collection of 49 short stories set in and around Massapequa on Long Island, New York.
Spanning the period from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, the included stories focus on the eccentric people and places of the (in)famous hamlet, delving into their oddities, shenanigans, and shames as viewed from the perspective of a singular observer—that is, an outsider who was unceremoniously relocated to the burg at an impressionable age.
The first story in The Greater Massapequas, "Birch Lane," introduces Carl, at the time a fifth grader, who goes on to be the central character around whom all of the subsequent stories weave. In this opening gambit, Carl is settling in for his first day at Birch Lane Elementary in Massapequa, having moved to the hamlet after his mother left his father to shack up with her affair partner, the aptly named Rick the Dick, "the suburban cowboy with Burt Reynolds mustache, custom van, and country music."
It's 1983 and Carl sadly comes to realize that he is grossly underdressed compared to his classmates. "Carl had never been a 'new kid', and he'd always felt bad for them, outsiders for at least a couple of grades before the 'new kid' label finally started to wear off." The reality turns out to be even worse than he imagined and not just from a fashion point of view; he even gets labeled with a "KICK ME" sign. However, a meeting with fellow newbie/outcast Eric suggests that the new school might not be a total loss.
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