The Color Midnight Made : A Novel [Paperback]

Andrew Winer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2003

This critically acclaimed debut is a modern Huckleberry Finn, a heartrending tale of wit and grace that charts the coming of age of a color-blind white boy struggling to find meaning in a world divided by poverty and race. One of the most memorable characters in recent fiction, Conrad Clay is just beginning life. Yet all around him things are ending: His parents' marriage is crumbling, his father loses his job during the closing of the Alameda naval base, his family faces eviction from their house, and his beloved grandmother is dying. As betrayal and poverty take their toll, Conrad's efforts to create a new family for himself lead us on a journey alternately hilarious and desolating. Filled with tenderness and a cast of unforgettable characters, The Color Midnight Made is at heart a profound portrait of America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although coming of age on the mean streets has been done to death, this debut by a Bay Area novelist/screenwriter puts an interesting spin on the genre. Fifth-grader Conrad Clay lives in a seedy neighborhood of Alameda, near the San Francisco shipyards and naval station. The son of an abusive, alcoholic welder, he is one of 14 white boys at Jack London Primary, though he fits in pretty well because he avoids "comin at it on the honky-ass tip." His father has just lost his job (but is keeping it a secret), his mother is slipping deeper into depression, his beloved grandmother is in failing health and they are all facing eviction. He finds some solace with his black best friend, Loop, but even that relationship is tumultuous: at one point his father mistakes Loop for a burglar and nearly shoots him. Characters and plot lines range from the mundane (a bully, some adolescent sexual fumbling) to the bizarre (a pair of gay pro wrestlers, Conrad's plan to kill his father with a pipe bomb), but Winer's take on boyhood, with its attendant spasms of bravado and insecurity, always rings true. He errs toward the obvious when it comes to symbolism (Conrad is partially colorblind, for starters), but his imagery is often arresting and he manages to infuse the various domestic upheavals with a dark, damaged lyricism that is deeply affecting.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In his first novel, Winer tells the story of ten-year-old Conrad Clay, a boy whose childhood is almost behind him. The book is dramatic and well written, focusing on the struggles Con must face growing up in the poor and depleted shipbuilding town on the island of Almeda off the California coast. Con struggles with feelings brought about by his parents' constant fighting, his deep longing to escape the island, and his colorblindness. Con can see colors in others mom is yellow, best friend Loop is silver, Gramma is gray but he continues to search for his own color. Con learns that his family and friends are the only thing that can save him from getting completely swallowed up by the troubled environment around him. And when he eventually finds his own color, he realizes that he has "seen it out of the corner of my own eyes all my life." Winer's appealing use of dialog and language contributes to the story's sense of reality, although some not familiar with urban slang, such as "decks" (skateboards) and "bettys" (girls) may find some passages confusing. This quick and impressive read draws the reader in page after page. Recommended for public and academic libraries; Winer is the coauthor of a screenplay recently sold to Fox/New Regency. Lonya French, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (June 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743439929
• ISBN-13: 978-0743439923
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The author's a superb wordsmith, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Color Midnight Made : A Novel (Hardcover)

While it's true that coming-of-age stories are not infrequently found in literature, the way Andrew Winer treats his subject is fresh, engaging and relevant. This tale of young Conrad Clay butting up against the painful realities of adulthood broke my heart, but then the story knitted the fissures and gave me hope.

Having no first-hand experience at being a ten-year-old boy, I was grateful for the guided tour into this young man's heart and head. Evenso, Conrad's story brought up a flood of memories -- being a girl child isn't really so very different. This is what makes Winer's book, and Conrad's tale, the reader's own: being ten, having to deal with the fallibility of adults, living in a tired ol' neighborhood, or watching your parents split up are experiences that many, many people can relate to intimately; but connecting into this man-child's heartaching experience, and watching him survive, made me think I can, too.

I am astonished at the dexterity of Winer's wordsmithing, and the wickedly funny (the morgue scene!) and heart-wrenching dialogue. The way he draws descriptions was nothing short of extraordinary, and some of the scene settings left me gasping. This is an excellent debut novel and I look forward to upcoming wordsmithing by Andrew Winer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Moving Modern Coming of Age Novel, July 25, 2005

By 

Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Color Midnight Made : A Novel (Hardcover)

I met the author of this novel, who spent much time in New York City, and writes with the passion of experience and the knowledge of life in the streets. The hero of this novel is a young white man living in a primarily black community in a shipyard town near San Francisco. He goes from foster home to foster home and attends Christian churches attended by blacks. While its about identity, its also about friendship (he befriends a blind man who draws a new color thats symbolic of the soul). It's also about tolerance, humanity and a boy's journey into manhood. It's a modern coming of age novel. It's well-written and soulful. Dickens, while not in an obvious way, directly influenced some of the characteristics- the waif who is taken in by a "family" and taught good values. The book is very modern and contains language that is very realistic and down-to-earth, like its tone. I look forward to a sequel if it is ever written.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, September 11, 2003

By 

Delah (Palm Desert, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Color Midnight Made : A Novel (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of some aspects of my own childhood (parents not getting along, father getting drunk and swearing, feeling alone in the world, unhappy about family life). At first I thought it was a bit slow but then it picked up (not too far into it) and never lost my attention after that. The author keeps an even pace between hardship and humor so one does not get depressed reading the book. The part I remember the most (and still gives me a chuckle) is when Conrad is in church (forced to go my his mother who does not attend with him). Apparently the church choir is predominately white (if not all white) and a black church choir comes to visit. Conrad is bored and not very interesetd in the strained singing of the white church choir but when the black church choir comes in with their own unique way it makes Conrad sit up and pay attention and he thinks to himself "We have a situation!" If you didn't get a chuckle out of that you'll have to read the book and see how the author described it. It is poignant.

I recommend this book. It is an easy and relativly fast read. I loaned it to my 15-year-old nephew. He has to do several book reports for school and needs something that he can read that isn't too long. I felt this was a good balance between not too long but would also hold his attention and be a pleasure to read.