Customer Reviews

The Forever Year

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me start by saying that Nicholas Sparks is my absolute favorite author. I have read every one of his novels immediately upon their release. Since he usually only publishes one novel per year, I usually spend the rest of the year trying to find another novel to satisfy me as much (or close to as much) as Sparks' books do - - I think I've found this in Ronald Anthony!

I stumbled upon this book by accident, after reading some reviews here on Amazon. After seeing more than one compare this to a Sparks novel, I headed down to my local book store, and immediately picked up a copy to see for myself. I am so glad I did, and can now add Anthony to my list of favorite "new" authors.

Written with so much emotion, I can't imagine anyone reading this book without feeling something.

Three stories are actually told - one of the relationship between an aging father and his youngest son, one of the father's long ago love affair with a woman he just never got over and one of the son's current relationship with a wonderful woman.

Even after marrying another woman and producing four (now grown) children, Mickey never got over the love of his life. Jesse (Mickey's son), is now in a not-so-serious relationship with the beautiful, mesmorizing Marina. Jesse & Marina decide to take their relationship slowly and don't have any plans for a "future." Both have been badly hurt by previous relationships, and rather than run the risk of suffering through that pain again, they both decide to take their relationship one day a time, without any expectations from the other about what direction their relationship is headed. It is this attitude that causes Mickey to share the story of his lost love with Gina - a love story that took place more than 50 years earlier.

All three stories are equally touching and moving, and cannot be read without some type of emotion. As love evolves among all the main characters (Mickey & Gina, Jesse & Marina, Mickey & Jesse), I found myself thinking about the many "loves" in my life. It's very hard not to get emotionally attached to this story as readers of all ages and genders - in all types of relationships - can easily identify with the characters and the choices they make, mistakes that are made, and chances that have been lost. While this is a "love story", it's not simply the story between a man and woman that is told. Fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends, mothers and sons, even between two best friends - all of these relationships are covered within this story.

The story flows nicely from chapter to chapter - some chapters are told from the point of view of Mickey, while others are told by Jesse. It's not confusing, however, and readers can easily follow along. I also liked how the story was not very predictable - readers are left guessing what happens right up until the very end - I hate it when a story is so predictable, you're just waiting to get to the part that you already KNOW is going to happen! This isn't the case with this book. While I'm sure readers will figure out part of the story - you won't know the full story until you've read the very least page. There's the perfect amount of light humor involved - I loved how Jesse & Mickey endearingly referred to each other as "Moron" throughout the story!! Instead of envisioning a cranky old man in his early 80s, readers are left with the image of a spunky, fun-loving, light-hearted Mickey. Readers can also see how both Mickey & Jesse grow through the book - each opening the their eyes & hearts to thoughts and feelings that neither one ever thought they'd ever experience. Both father & son learn from each other - both, from their mistakes & accomplishments - and its fun to see each of them evolve through the story; i.e., Jesse loves organic food, gormet coffee, "turkey burgers" - Mickey is set in his ways and just wants a simple cup of coffee and bacon. By the end of the story, both have tried & done things neither would have imagined at the beginning of the book.

I'm so glad I found this book, and decided to give it a try. It was truly a emotional read, one that will be difficult to top in the near future - the new Nicholas Sparks book isn't due to be released until Sept, but at least I had THE FOREVER YEAR to occupy at least some of my reading time til then.

I can't wait to read the next novel from Ronald Anthony - I hope all of his books stay with this theme. If so, he definitely has a dedicated fan in me!

Jesse, youngest son of widower Mickey Sienna, 83, asks his father to move in with him instead of to the assisted-living facility preferred by his siblings. Father and son quickly acclimate to each other's idiosyncrasies, but Jesse's healthy twenty-first-century relationship with his girlfriend, Marina, completely befuddles Mickey. To him, Marina is a rare woman whom Jesse should treasure, but Jesse, still smarting from numerous failed relationships, is not ready to commit. Trying to show Jesse how disastrous it would be for him to lose Marina, Mickey reveals the secret of his first and greatest love. In a series of emotionally draining chapters stretching out over several weeks, Mickey confides his love for Gina, an intelligent, passionate woman to whom he was engaged before her untimely death over 50 years earlier. Jesse realizes how foolish he has been, telling Marina his father was right when he called him a moron. Compelling characters quickly engage the reader in a heartfelt, if somewhat predictable, tale of romance lost and found.

The Forever Year is a wonderful tale of learning about life from the eyes of experience. Jesse Sienna finds this out when his 83-year old father moves in with him. Jesse, the youngest and unplanned child of Mickey, never had quite the same relationship with his father as his three siblings. He has also had his experiences with love that has left him convinced that each love is doomed to die, thus making him resistant to fully commit to anyone. Thankfully for him, he has met Marina, a beautiful school teacher that has also lost faith in love. Together, they decide to have a relationship based on one day at a time.

When Mickey meets Marina, he becomes fond of her. She reminds him of a lady from his youth, Gina, that up to now none of his children have heard of. Mickey is not fond of that fact that his son is unwilling to commit to Marina and starts to tell him of his own love with Gina before he met Jesse and his siblings' mother. He tells the story to him in little bits over a series of weeks. In the end, Mickey's love affair of 50 years previous is the guiding light in Jesse's own love with Marina.

The author has done an excellent job in going back and forth between first and third person in the story. It reflects two tales in one as Jesse tells the story from his eyes mixed with the author telling the story from beyond Jesse's point of view. A noteworthy novel from this promising new author.

I received my order promptly. The packaging was superb.
My book, Puff the Magic Dragon, arrived in perfect condition. thank you!!!

The cozy cover art on THE FOREVER YEAR literally glowed to me; it grabbed my eyes and commanded, "BUY ME!!"

"Yeah, sure," I thought, "The cover's luscious; it's got the homey icons that surge the most vulnerable kind of hope, that the story will live up to the artistic promise of joint coffee mugs and a vase of flowers on a kitchen table by a window..."

The paperback felt too good in my hands; I was actually afraid to read the reviews and synopsis. I replaced the book on the supermarket shelf (that was before I discovered Amazon's wish list and the ease of electronic shopping carts). On a few different occasions, I again picked up the book, gathering faith, before I dropped the paperback into my shopping cart, almost a month later.

I had finally worked through my auto pilot's too-good-to-be-true warning, "A guy writing a sensitive story? He'll probably be one of those Pulitzer Prize gurus who twists readers hearts into wanting to exit through an invisible, clouded sunset, deciding never return to the emptiness, the hopeless horror of Earth."

After finishing the book, I set it down with a gentle reluctance, saturated with awe, admiration, and appreciation that a book could live up to the siren's call of a sensationally soulful cover. I see now why THE FOREVER YEAR is marketed by Amazon as comparing to the novels of top-of-the-line female authors, including Delinsky's FLIRTING WITH PETE.

Anthony is a true male, no doubts about that; yet his writing softens raw realism with a healing grace, exposing with crystal clarity and compassion the visceral levels of life and intimacy in the present day emotional labyrinth. The generation gaps (there are at least two) between Jesse Sienna and his dad, Mickey, are delightfully portrayed through generously disbursed treats of hilarious, heart warming, on target dialogue between this superbly sarcastic father and son. I laughed out loud so often I was getting tired having to stop reading to explain to my husband what was so funny.

I fell in love with father and son, though Mickey was definitely wiser than the loveably strutting, yet genuinely sensitive Jesse, who thought he was so beyond his father in relationship sophistication. Anthony portrays the dichotomous psychological set of these males with the skill of a psychiatrist wielding the talent of a seasoned wordsmith, who has lived lifetimes beyond textbooks and writing seminars. Moreover, Anthony is such a natural artist, his drama, description, and dialogue flow effortlessly. The reader doesn't notice how skillful the execution of the novel is until he's finished reading it and has enjoyed a few weeks of the story rambling pleasantly through leisure thoughts.

Anthony doesn't develop characters, he traps real people into books. If anyone ever hypothesized that authors are creative, mind-over-matter, Beings-in-training, Anthony would stack the evidence with his ability to paint reality on paper, better yet, a reality worth living.

This book had several gifts for me, even beyond the experience of reading an entertaining work of escape fiction with rare cathartic depth. In a sense, all these gifts coalesce for me into this fact:

The existence of this novel exposed to me that TOR, the publisher of THE FOREVER YEAR, is expanding with the market, actively opening its doors to serious, accomplished writers offering the type of polished manuscripts which will feed the evolving needs of the reading public, manuscripts exactly like the collection I've been sitting on for two decades.

With Regards & Best Wishes,
Linda G. Shelnutt

At eighty-three, Mickey Sienna lives alone in his New Jersey home ever since his beloved wife Dorothy died a few years ago. Mickey?s four children worry about his living alone at his age, but do nothing until he doses off while making fried eggs, setting his kitchen on fire. The siblings discuss what to do. The three oldest want to move dad into assisted living while the youngest by twelve years Jesse wants his father to move in with him.

When threatened with the home, Mickey leaps at moving in with Jesse. The two men walk gingerly on eggshells as they struggle to find a middle ground and avoid a generation war. Mickey forces Jesse to bring his girlfriend Marina to him so he can meet her. He quickly realizes these two have a rare chance for a once in a lifetime love, but his son is a moron who thinks love eventually dies. Mickey relates the story of his one true love, not his spouse of fifty years though he loved her too. Will Jesse understand what he has before he loses it or is fatherly advice too late for a grown up son?

THE FOREVER YEARS is a delightful family relationship drama with a wonderful romantic subplot. The story line is amusing yet poignant as Mickey struggles with his decreasing capacity and his adult children tussle with what is best for their beloved dad. Jesse is an enjoyable individual who is a mocking cynical Metro New Yorker (oxymoron?) as well as a nurturing person. Though Marina seems too perfect to be real, fans will appreciate Ronald Anthony?s enchanting and beautiful modern day novel.

Harriet Klausner

Title: The Forever Years
Author: Ronald Anthony
Publisher: Forge Books
Jesse Sienna is content with his life and his relationship to girlfriend Marina. He makes no promises, why should he when love ? if there really is such a thing ? never lasts. But life is full of surprises as Jesse discovers when his Father, Mickey, accepts and moves from the family home to Jesse?s apartment. Adjustments to change are never predictable but when Mickey reveals a life long secret, Jesse life and his perspective is changed. ?The Forever Years? is a fabulous debut novel by Ronald Anthony. Keep them coming, Ronald!
Beverly J Scott, author of Righteous Revenge and Ruth Fever
http://www.beverlyjscott.com

I don't spend much time reading novels, but some time away at my parent's house lead me back to the glorious world of fiction. I almost didn't read this one because I thought, "oh, man, I am not in the mood for a romance novel" but this book read as a romance novel plus a lot more.

I really enjoyed the author's voice as he explored and "lived in" the life of Jesse and Mickey. His tone was realistic - and I heard some of myself in his thoughts and phrasings. Jesse was especially multi-dimensional.

Also, the exploration of family was excellent - again, especially from Jesse's perspective.

It also reminded me there are many stories within our family tree that are not "open" that would fascinate us - and remind us of the uniqueness of these people with whom we share our blood lines.

There are some of the usual "romance-novel" aspects of this book as well, but for the most part I found it deliciously, perfectly unconventionally conventional.

For anyone who has ever doubted a father's love for his son, a son's love for his father ... and the influence a good woman can have on both of them, this book is for you. A "secret" from the father's past changes all their lives ... in unusual ways.

I truly marveled at the way this author switched back and forth from third person to first with such ease and clarity, creating a smooth, pleasurable read from start to finish. Ronald Anthony's voice has the "feel" of some of Joe Coomer's best work; warm, nostalgic, and completely "authentic".

A feel-good book you will find hard to put down, once you start reading.

Miss the Mark

All these other reviews all sound so?professionally done.

All I can say is I like to read, and I read 50 books a year. This one just didn?t make the grade. While the point of view flip-flops from one main character to the other, the entire book is written in a passive voice that almost hypnotizes the reader every time she?s forced into reading ?was? after ?was? after ?was? after ?was.? Even the climax occurs off-stage.

What ?was? the point of that?

Mr. Anthony?s freshman effort is a pale comparison of the same old stuff that didn?t work in the 90?s.

Half a star out of five?and I?m not one of these ?5-Star Ringers.?

After his dad accidentally sets his kitchen on fire, Jesse and his siblings have a family conference that results in Mickey moving in with him, the youngest son. Jesse sees this as the perfect chance to get to know his dad better, but things don't quite work out that way.

The adjustment is hard on both men. Mickey is still striving to overcome the loss of his wife, a woman he loved, but had no real passion for; and this bland marriage is one that has shaped Jesse's own view of love and romance. It is a perspective that might cause him to lose the woman who could be the one for him, so Mickey takes steps to help save Jesse's love affair with Marina. In the process, he gains an unexpected reward.

***** Touching and educational rather than depressing, this novel is told through flashbacks and two distinct voices in both first and third person. You have seldom read a book quite like it. *****