Do you remember your radio and "Captain Midnight," "The Lone Ranger," "Junior Miss" and "Let's Pretend"? The first time you inhaled a cigarette? Your first swallow of hard liquor? The thrill of the first exploration of the body of your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife... your own body? Your first orgasm? Remember when as a people we loved America, and showed it? Then you might be ready for a nostalgic, funny, romantic, sexually frustrating novel. A novel that may remind many of us of ourselves, "way back then," when God's most mysterious creation was the opposite sex. A novel about life and the often funny, sometimes sad, day-to-day things that stir the memories of our lives. Reminiscent of the Neil Simon trilogy, Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint" and the humorous writing of Jean Shepherd in the mid and late sixties; uniquely original, we are introduced to five-yearold Mitchie in 1939 in an ethnically diverse, lower middle-class neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. As children do, subtly growing over the next sixteen years,seeing World War Two through the eyes of this Jewish child, and later, lying about his age, joining the National Guard, "'cause girls love guys in uniform." Accidentally getting caught up in the Korean war at age fifteen, "Becoming" follows Mitchell's life in a series of nostalgic, comical, romantic, sad and - because "those" situations with girls, and later women, rarely conclude as young men hope - vividly described, extremely funny sexual situations. "Becoming" climaxes hilariously in 1955, in Brighton Beach, New York, when Mitchell is twenty-one and a man. or, because it takes more than age and size to "become" one... the semblance of a man.
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More About the Author
After hundreds upon hundreds of queries, each including a "SASE", a self -addressed, stamped envelope (this was before my time with computers), and after receiving hundreds upon hundreds of rejections, I discovered the Catch-22 of the publishing industry: agents will not look at a new writer unless he/she has been published, and publishers will not look at a new writer unless he/she has an agent.
But I had discovered that writing had become a very enjoyable and important part of my life. So as I continued to look for an agent or a publisher for The Climbing Boy, in 1986 I began Captain Midnight and the Toothpaste Thief, which I later renamed Becoming.
Lo and behold, after twenty-two years of trying and never giving up The Climbing Boy was published in 2004. Four years later, Becoming was published and two years afterwards, For Better or Worse was published in 2010.
To further add to the rewards of "never giving up," a contract was drawn and signed between a Burbank, California production company and myself late in 2010 for a film production of The Climbing Boy with the thought of making my novel into an everlasting, ongoing Christmas classic.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great entertainment,
By Renetta Randy (nashville tn usa) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Becoming (Paperback)
Wonderfully well written it paints a life picture at times through eyes of both humor and disappointment. I was reared in the rural south but this work transcends ethnic and geographic boundaries so that we can easily identify with Mitch, especially in his quest to lose his virginity. Mark's wit and great sense of humor comes through in a style that holds ones attention long after putting down his book. You just know this has to be Mark's story and that of those who experienced life with him. This is indeed a book worth reading for the sheer enjoyment of remembering the way we were and those people who made it interesting.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant Coming-of-age Novel,
By
This review is from: Becoming (Paperback)
As one raised in a Chicago neighborhood around the same time Lichterman grew up in his, I found this coming-of-age novel very reminiscent of my own childhood and adolescence. However, to enjoy this book, one needn't be from Chicago (or Peoria, for that matter), nor a child of the same era. The scenes, characters, experiences, relationships, conversations and events in this book are vividly and brilliantly depicted in a way that will awaken fond, fearful, and passionate memories in the reader fortunate enough to acquire this gem of a book. It is a poignant, humorous and timeless tale that moves along at a satisfying pace.
3.0 out of 5 stars
has its moments,
By Jude24 (California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Becoming (Paperback)
I found myself wanting this book to end so much, yet I kept reading. There is certainly some great insight into the awakening of a boy on a journey to adulthood. The sexual obsession is described well, but it is the only real theme of this long story. While hitting the target describing a boy's awakening, I am pretty sure the author used mens magazines to do his research on adolescent girls. Some moments are touching, some are funny, and some are ridiculously implausible. I don't know what became of his best friend, but twice I get to hear about his adventure of defecating on a bird? Some interesting sub-plots are sidelined to make more room for the only real story here. The crescendo leads to; Can he get her to cuss? Will he ever get to...well if you must know, trudge your way to the end. I expect this first read from this author will be my last. Not terrible, but I wish I had invested this time in something else.
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