The 79 Squares [Paperback]

Malcolm J. Bosse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1981

To the bafflement of his parents, gang, and probation officer, visiting an ostracized, cantankerous old man and his garden becomes very important to 14-year-old Eric.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell Pub Co (July 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440989019
• ISBN-13: 978-0440989011
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,380,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and wonderful!, February 18, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 79 Squares (Paperback)

I loved this book! It really makes you think about how the world works: not only in nature, but also in human society. Who really has knowledge? Read this book to find out. It has given me a much broader perspective on the world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slow Down & Look, July 22, 2009

By 

Aubrey Lively "aubrey" (DFW, Tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 79 Squares (Paperback)

In observing nature, 1 square at a time, the main character of this story comes to understand himself & the world around him with greater maturity, but the project isn't his idea--it's an old man's punishment, levied for trespassing. The mysterious draw of the boy to the man, to the 79 squares laid out for him to observe is also the mysterious draw of the book.

This is one of the books that sticks with you. I read it as a middle school student at my great-grandmother's house, and the tedium of the book, the slow kind of quiet of the house, the seeming slowness of life itself at that age threatened to be too much--I almost gave up.

But I had a book report due, & I'd waited till the last minute, so I pushed forward & met my first encounter with the rewards of fortitude.

You do have to slow down to enjoy The 79 Squares, but if you'll let it, the book will teach you how. It will help you to see the invisible world of the miniscule & the mundane, & it will open your eyes to the mystery & magic of that world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book, April 10, 2011

By 

Zachary Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 79 Squares (Paperback)

This is a great book about how much we tend to ignore the world around us, and what amazing things are right in front of us, if we'd only look at them.