Best of
Coming-Of-Age

1961

One Moonlit Night: Novel


Caradog Prichard - 1961
    Originally published in 1961, this Welsh-language novel has been eloquently translated into English by Philip Mitchell, perhaps garnering Prichard the wide recognition his novels have long enjoyed in his native land. Less a novel than a loosely connected series of tales, Prichard peoples his fictional world with characters such as Grace Ellen Shoe Shop, Will Starch Collar, and Johnny Beer Barrel. Though One Moonlit Night has its lighter moments, its story is primarily a sad one: the narrator's mother is sent to an insane asylum; one close friend dies of tuberculosis while another moves away; village men die in the faraway killing fields of the war as the loved ones they leave behind live in unrelenting poverty. Eventually, something terrible happens.In One Moonlit Night, perfection is in the details--the loving evocations of the townspeople and the physical and emotional landscapes they inhabit. Dark as it is at times, Prichard's tragic tale is leavened by humor and illuminated by prose that is lyrical and deeply stirring.

Horseman, Pass By


Larry McMurtry - 1961
    In classic Western style Larry McMurtry illustrates the timeless conflict between the modernity and the Old West through the eyes of Texas cattlemen.Horseman, Pass By tells the story of Homer Bannon, an old-time cattleman who epitomizes the frontier values of honesty and decency, and Hud, his unscrupulous stepson. Caught in the middle is the narrator, Homer's young grandson Lonnie, who is as much drawn to his grandfather’s strength of character as he is to Hud's hedonism and materialism. When first published in 1961, Horseman, Pass By caused a sensation in Texas literary circles for its stark, realistic portrayal of the struggles of a changing West in the years following World War II. Never before had a writer managed to encapsulate its environment with such unsentimental realism. Today, memorable characters, powerful themes, and illuminating detail make Horseman, Pass By vintage McMurtry.

A Journey to Matecumbe


Robert Lewis Taylor - 1961
    It has taken me several attempts to locate it. It is the story of a boy who takes a trip from Illinois to the Florida Keys. It has everything from hurricans to Seminole in it. Glad I found it again.