Amazon.com Review
No, Dad wasn't really a carpenter. Kenny Kemp's father was a pharmacist who liked to make things in his garage, a man who always saw something new and useful in things old and worn. "To him, a piece of plywood wasn't just lumber: it was a travel box, a bunk bed, a train set platform, or a dresser," explains Kemp. Soon after his father died, Kemp traveled to San Diego to face the grim task of sorting through his dad's belongings. In the garage, the flashbacks begin: the time when Dad helped him build a go-cart out of a broom and a washing-machine part, or the time Dad made an aluminum-frame backpack for the author's first scouting trip. The memories build upon each other, crafting a father-son relationship that has its share of hard knocks, but that's ultimately sealed with the lasting glue of loyalty. We see how fathering a child is a spiritual act, one that requires attention, ingenuity, and ongoing patience. And we see how a handyman father helps a young boy become a good man--a man who ultimately witnesses the painful death of his father from Lou Gehrig's disease. In the end, Kenny Kemp's
Dad Was a Carpenter is like his father's handiwork: simple, lasting, and filled with an affirmation of fatherly love. --
Gail Hudson
From Library Journal
Men, it is said, love to take things apart; the tricky part is putting them back together again. In both of these memoirs, the authors successfully disassemble and rebuild their relationships with their fathers. Kemp's memoir is a brief but beautiful love letter to his deceased pops. Winner of the 1999 Writer's Digest National Self-Published Book contest's Grand Prize, this work recalls the author's meaningful connections (e.g., "I had the best go-cart in the world and...[he] built it for me") and chronicles parts of his dad's life. Writing in a frankly inspirational style, Kemp, a Salt Lake City-based attorney, focuses on what his father taught him about life's big lessons. Marchese, a freelance writer, takes a more workman-like approach. He deconstructs the complex relationship that he shares with his former construction-worker father and presents it as clearly as a blueprint. Their fizzled relationship is rekindled when the two renovate a house in Narrowsburg, NY. It helps that Dad has a lifetime's experience, because Marchese doesn't even know which end of a pry-bar to use. An epiphany near the end of Marchese's book speaks to everyone: "Like all sons, I am what I am both because of [my father] and despite him."Although there is much accumulated wisdom in both books, libraries might prefer Marchese's literate and forthright account, although Kemp's more idealized account will work well where inspirational titles for men are needed. Libraries might also consider Ted Solotaroff's Truth Comes in Blows (LJ 11/1/98) and Hugh Howard's House-Dreams (LJ 5/15/01). Appropriate for Father's Day gifts and for public libraries. Douglas C. Lord, Hartford P.L., CT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
