Collecting Sins is a highly-charged, coming-of-age novel set in the Southern California of the late-'60s/early-'70s. In his witty, touching and masterful debut, author Steven Sobel evokes the inner environment of Ben, a sensitive and carefree youth, who, with the help of three strongly-defined women, confronts adulthood. Ben explores the labyrinth of storm-drains beneath the San Fernando Valley, cavorts on the sun-drenched, bikini-infested beaches of Santa Monica, and immerses himself in the hippie culture of Topanga Canyon.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The grown-up world of sex and drugs in Southern California during the late 1960s is explored by 15-year-old Ben, an affable but often clueless kid who narrates Sobel's labored first novel. As the story begins, Ben and his friend Graham are in the labyrinthine underground sewers so that Graham, a newly converted Catholic, will have something to confess. When they discover the comatose body of a woman who's pierced in provocative places, Graham and Ben flee the scene. Two chapters and one day later, after a harrowing dinnertime episode with his dysfunctional family, Ben goes to the police. When the cops fail to locate the woman, Ben returns to the sewers with his hippie friend Jackson. Miraculously, they find her, still alive; even more amazing, the revived Vickie offers the boys a night of sex as reward. Slow-moving action, inconsistent characterization and repetitive attempts at sexual adventure typify the narrative, with Ben learning about drugs from Jackson and about sex from Connie, the "girl-next-door" dying of cancer. He manages to partake of plenty of kinky action, some of it hilarious adolescent slapstick and some more than just a little creepy. Ben gets Connie and another girl pregnant, while Graham falls in love with Connie; Jackson is drafted; and the turmoil of the late '60s is in full swing. In the end, Ben is left with hope for happiness despite all he has learned about sinning. His story is a plain-spoken, libidinous monologue charting one boy's self-absorbed moral limbo as he tries to grow up in a tumultuous time.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Collecting Sins is an engaging story that captures the essence of growing up in the 1960s...It took me back to my generation's attempt to change the world while grappling with the ambiguities and conflicts inherent in coming-of-age during any complicated time. I enjoyed this book tremendously." -- Anonymous Reviewer
"An instant page turner . . . The story is instantly engaging, chock full of plot twists" -- Undergraduate Reporter
"It would be a sin not to read this book! Collecting Sins will drain you of your innocence and condemn you to be ever grateful that writers as unblemished by piety and cant as Steven Sobel manage to exist." -- Howard Junker, editor, ZYZZYVA
"Lots of kinky action" -- Publishers Weekly
"Steven Sobel takes us on a wonderful and surprising pilgrimage of youthful discovery, set against the backdrop of the 20th century's most magical and turbulent era. It is an insightful and touching journey, but best of all, Sobel transports the reader into some remarkably unexpected situations, which is why Collecting Sins is such a fascinating trip." -- Jim Ladd, author and rock radio personality
"Steven Sobel's Collecting Sins captures a particularly elusive moment of youth with its unconscious humor, misapplied diligence and underlying pathos. It's a wonderful book." -- Aram Saroyan
"Tackling teenage trauma from a wholly different perspective, Collecting Sins follows the darkly comic adventures of the very confused Ben, who is touchingly trying to navigate his way through the late sixties in L.A. Steven Sobel's confident debut novel is so vividly evocative, and his protagonist so honestly etched, you'll be imagining the sequel before it even ends!" -- Marie Claire
"The confusion of adolescence rolls through Steven Sobel's Collecting Sins like a night fog on a beach. Fifteen-year-old Ben, no longer boy, not yet man, is struck with the potential in life for greatness, and at once confronted by the foibles of "the human condition" that predelict him to commit unspeakable sins even during acts of heroism. He emerges as a solitary and isolated figure, even as his own friends disappear into the mist of the times--the maw of Vietnam, the banal emptiness of hippie philosophy and the sensory indulgences of what must be the early '70s. Even tragedy becomes mediocrity as Ben's first love affair, with a dying girl, is transfigured in the gray light of reality. Lost within himself, Ben is unaware of how much he (and the reader) experiences in this adventure that dramatically begins in the catacomb storm drains of a California city, as two boys, with a charming interpretation of Catholicism, set out on a quest to gather sins for the confessional. The writing is evocative, the subplots are refreshing, and the narrative never stalls, creating a story with an unrelenting grip. Even though this is a full novel, Sobel works in the polished, condensed pace of a short story writer--showing little of the rough edges evident in most first works. A contemporary of his fictional characters, Sobel is, by trade, a corporate lawyer, with graduate degrees in law and business from the University of Southern California. This is his first piece of published fiction, reflecting the labor of several years work wedged between child-rearing and career-tending. Collecting Sins also marks the first fiction for Santa Monica Press, a refreshing and timeless addition to its usual line of trendy how-to books." -- Congressman Brad Sherman, Sherman Oaks, CA
"An instant page turner . . . The story is instantly engaging, chock full of plot twists" -- Undergraduate Reporter
"It would be a sin not to read this book! Collecting Sins will drain you of your innocence and condemn you to be ever grateful that writers as unblemished by piety and cant as Steven Sobel manage to exist." -- Howard Junker, editor, ZYZZYVA
"Lots of kinky action" -- Publishers Weekly
"Steven Sobel takes us on a wonderful and surprising pilgrimage of youthful discovery, set against the backdrop of the 20th century's most magical and turbulent era. It is an insightful and touching journey, but best of all, Sobel transports the reader into some remarkably unexpected situations, which is why Collecting Sins is such a fascinating trip." -- Jim Ladd, author and rock radio personality
"Steven Sobel's Collecting Sins captures a particularly elusive moment of youth with its unconscious humor, misapplied diligence and underlying pathos. It's a wonderful book." -- Aram Saroyan
"Tackling teenage trauma from a wholly different perspective, Collecting Sins follows the darkly comic adventures of the very confused Ben, who is touchingly trying to navigate his way through the late sixties in L.A. Steven Sobel's confident debut novel is so vividly evocative, and his protagonist so honestly etched, you'll be imagining the sequel before it even ends!" -- Marie Claire
"The confusion of adolescence rolls through Steven Sobel's Collecting Sins like a night fog on a beach. Fifteen-year-old Ben, no longer boy, not yet man, is struck with the potential in life for greatness, and at once confronted by the foibles of "the human condition" that predelict him to commit unspeakable sins even during acts of heroism. He emerges as a solitary and isolated figure, even as his own friends disappear into the mist of the times--the maw of Vietnam, the banal emptiness of hippie philosophy and the sensory indulgences of what must be the early '70s. Even tragedy becomes mediocrity as Ben's first love affair, with a dying girl, is transfigured in the gray light of reality. Lost within himself, Ben is unaware of how much he (and the reader) experiences in this adventure that dramatically begins in the catacomb storm drains of a California city, as two boys, with a charming interpretation of Catholicism, set out on a quest to gather sins for the confessional. The writing is evocative, the subplots are refreshing, and the narrative never stalls, creating a story with an unrelenting grip. Even though this is a full novel, Sobel works in the polished, condensed pace of a short story writer--showing little of the rough edges evident in most first works. A contemporary of his fictional characters, Sobel is, by trade, a corporate lawyer, with graduate degrees in law and business from the University of Southern California. This is his first piece of published fiction, reflecting the labor of several years work wedged between child-rearing and career-tending. Collecting Sins also marks the first fiction for Santa Monica Press, a refreshing and timeless addition to its usual line of trendy how-to books." -- Congressman Brad Sherman, Sherman Oaks, CA
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great coming of age story!,
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This review is from: Collecting Sins: A Novel (Paperback)
I just finished Collecting Sins yesterday, and throughly enjoyed it. The story covers the late sixties through the eyes of Ben, a high school student. Ben is assisting his Catholic friend in "collecting sins" for confession when he stumbles across a woman down in the sewers. He ends up aving her life, and from there, has all sorts of memorable experiences. The book touches on the drug culture of the times, and explores Ben's relationships with the girls he meets over his summer vacation. It also allows the reader to appreciate the simple things in life; things one might miss out on if they don't stop to appreciate them.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sex and sadness in the sixties,
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This review is from: Collecting Sins: A Novel (Paperback)
If you went through your teenage years in the late sixties or early seventies (or you're younger, and just always wanted to know what the hell your parents were going on about) this is a fabulous book. From the moment it starts--two teenage guys lost in the sewers-stumbling across a young woman's body--you know your going to have to read this book instead of doing all the other stuff you should be doing. I've never read anything that captures so well the excitement, and sadness and confussion of what it was like being a teenager. Evocative, erotic, totally compelling--couldn't put it down. Hope Sobel's working on another one.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for everyone,
This review is from: Collecting Sins: A Novel (Paperback)
Everyone who has been a teenager should read this book. Period
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