The Death of Fernie: The Best Little Book Ever Written About Real Little Boys in the 1950s

De: Daniel Altieri

Narrado por: Clay Lomakayu

Boomers and Bullies

In The Death of Fernie: The Best Little Book Ever Written About Real Little Boys in the 1950s, critically acclaimed author Daniel Altieri has turned his attentions to something completely different - a foray into an East Coast childhood of the Eisenhower era. The Death of Fernie is a free-spirited tale with special resonance for the postwar generation, who grew up in that time of imagination and awakening. It's written mainly from the point of view of the boys, preadolescents in the scary post-grammar-school world. A tale of bullies and abuse, of rich flights of imagination and reflection, when phones dialed, there were three channels on TV, and flying saucers hovered everywhere.

It's 1958 in rural Connecticut, and three boys between 10 and 11 years old - Tommy (from a stable, "normal" family), Jose (Hispanic, Catholic), and Jimmy (underfed child of a poor, single, alcoholic mother, has a severely retarded sister) - have been pals since first grade. But it's September, and the safe, cozy innocence of elementary school is behind them. Now they must enter the scary, new world of junior high school. In their small New England mill town, every kid from whatever side of the tracks goes to this same big school: kids from green-lawned houses where mothers put clear plastic on the lampshades and carpets, kids from houses where dilapidated sofas and car parts clutter the sagging porches and sumac-overgrown yards - it doesn't matter; they all get tossed together in a survival-of-the-fittest way. It's a hard time for our three pals. And it's about to get harder.

Daniel Altieri is the coauthor of several international best sellers: The Court of the Lion, Iron Empress, and Shangri-La: The Return to the World of Lost Horizon.

©2015 Daniel Altieri (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Enchanting

Where does The Death of Fernie: The Best Little Book Ever Written About Real Little Boys in the 1950s rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Best yet

What about Clay Lomakayu’s performance did you like?

Wonderful. Could listen to him all day.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

laughed and cried - that's what growing up is

Great evocative writing!

The author has really captured what it was like to be a young boy in the 50s. The story draws you in from start to finish, and the narrator definitely does the story justice. A great read!

It was like being a kid again myself...

What made the experience of listening to The Death of Fernie: The Best Little Book Ever Written About Real Little Boys in the 1950s the most enjoyable?

I like the way the story, though it centers around a group of preadolescent boys, gives a glimpse of the lives of the mostly working-class grownups--parents, teachers, cops, etc.--all around them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Jimmy. a miniature tragic hero.

Have you listened to any of Clay Lomakayu’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not had the previous pleasure.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

You can't help but feel sad for Fernie.

Any additional comments?

Kids... you gotta love 'em, right? This audiobook in Mr. Lomakayu's hands (well, vocal cords and emotions) is one tremendous listen. It's both funny and sad, sounds like the old neighborhood. Talk about being transported--Scotty and Kirk haven't got anything on this travel in time. I really felt I knew these characters, the good the bad and the ugly, which poor Fernie appears to be, right down to his dirty shirt, empty lunchbag, beaten face and half pack of cigarettes. This book nails it all. I grew up around the same time, when kids roamed free and got into all kinds of scrapes and adventures, and not so far from this rural Connecticut setting, in upstate NY, so I should know. I can just about smell the air. Classic stuff, and and a must-read for the Google generation that may have spent their entire childhoods indoors and missed it all...

Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

They say "Boys will be boys," and in this story we learn that the meaning of those words goes a lot deeper than the usual. Takes us right into the hearts and minds of kids on the brink of adolescence, when things start to get complicated in ways that nobody told you about, and you have to figure it out on your own, with the help of your pals, who are no better equipped than you are. This book is deep, but with plenty of humor and an easygoing style.

The narrator's performance is great--you forget that he's the narrator, and he seems more like somebody telling his own story, with authenticity and drama.

ATTENTION, Hollywood! Somebody ought to make a movie out of this book. It has all the makings of a classic coming-of-age flick.

Spectacular: A Tremendous Listen!

If you could sum up The Death of Fernie: The Best Little Book Ever Written About Real Little Boys in the 1950s in three words, what would they be?

Alive and Real!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Death of Fernie: The Best Little Book Ever Written About Real Little Boys in the 1950s?

When the three little boys follow the sirens and flashes to the bottom of the mountain and realize the extent of the change that has come to their world. I am not going to give anything away. And you can't make me.

What does Clay Lomakayu bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has an amazing gift for storytelling. Picking out the slightest change in emotion or
mood in the tale with the shifts in his voice, always subtle and almost imperceptible until you begin to feel what he is recreating for us.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Looking through the binoculars as Fernie rushes out of his house and hearing him over the distance.

Any additional comments?

Real shades of Twain and Harper Lee. Very sad and very funny. Immensely moving little book.