About the protagonist, Jason Benson, child juggler:
I got the feeling that as time wore on and the more talented he became in juggling, the more he tried to cling on to the innocence he had as a child, often wanting to go back to when times were simpler....

Opinion:
The book teases the senses and keeps the reader on a leash in trying to figure out why Jason Benson turned out that way [a grumpy middle-aged man struggling to relate to his wife and daughter]. I admit that I grew up in 1990s, and in Texas, thus I'm not familiar with the time or situation, but reading the book, I felt a wave of nostalgia for a lost childhood of the time of Judy Blume, at least in my case. There is cleverness in the writing and I loved the sensory description. While there is nostalgia, there are also hints of psychology and of wondering why Jason is that way and what he might be thinking and feeling as years come and go.

For he had learned some of the things that every man must find out for himself, and he had found out about them as one has to find out--through error and through trial, through fantasy and illusion, through falsehood and his own damn foolishness, through being mistaken and wrong and an idiot and egotistical and aspiring and hopeful and believing and confused.... Each thing he learned was so simple and obvious, once he grasped it, that he wondered why he had not always known it.

FADING AWAY . . .

I grew up in South Jersey, less than an hour from Atlantic City via the Atlantic City Expressway. However, as I was born in 1982, I am unable to picture Atlantic City pre-casino days. While I have a love-hate relationship with A.C., I knew I had to read this book.

I really loved Mr. Boardwalk. I loved seeing Atlantic City in the way my Dad did as a kid. I only know the Atlantic City of my youth, with more casinos that I can count. I kind of wish the boardwalk was like it is then, more family oriented.

I did have some slight issue with Jason as I didn't think of him as a young kid. In fact, as I read the novel several times I was shocked by Jason's age when it was mentioned in the narrative. He seemed older, maybe because all the action that took place in Atlantic City revolved around him working in his father's pretzel shop or juggling on the boardwalk. Not something you expect from a young kid. 

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story and I definitely cannot wait to share this book with my Dad next time I head down to South Jersey...and who knows, maybe I'll visit the boardwalk while I'm there.

Is this a zombie?

“He is a better juggler than I am, and I have a better marriage than he does. But there are a lot of similarities."

“Philip Roth had a profound influence in terms of telling a story that embraces the age you live in … I admire emotional honesty, and I love a good story.”