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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent summer reading, June 18, 2007
This review is from: Into the Sunset (Paperback)
Wayne Benson has decided that the easy life of cooked meals and laundry service of the Sunset Retirement Community is for him. Too bad he's only 30 years old. But Wayne thinks he can pull off an elaborate scheme involving theatrical makeup and mild identity theft of his father to get himself the lush and easy accommodations he desires. All works well until he starts forming friendships with other residents at the Sunset. Then, it's only a matter of time before he has to start worrying about his new golden-aged girlfriend or nosy next-door neighbor discovering his ruse, not to mention suspicious security guards and an intrusive community administrator.
This book starts off with a clever and carefree plot that promises plenty of fun, and boy does it deliver. When Wayne's hoax seems set to crumble, the laughs are fast and frequent. He's a likable character, but so are all his new friends at the Sunset. Eleanor and Herb make for great comedy, but also ground the novel with plenty of heart. This is a completely charming debut novel from Donald Capone.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Original Voice, March 23, 2010
This review is from: Into the Sunset (Paperback)
Funny premise. Flawless writing. But INTO THE SUNSET, offers more. Author Donald Capone dares to tackle subjects few writers would have the courage or ability to touch: senior citizens and the willingness of a 30-year-old man to disguise himself in order to live as one of them.
Ultimately, the "youngster" wearing makeup and donning a gray wig finds friendship, romance and genuine love. The bonds he makes during his life of deception lead him to discover new truths about himself, but not before hurting the very people whose trust he unintentionally betrays.
Only filmmaker, Ron Howard, could present such humor as he did through the movie COCOON and its sequel. Capone masterfully captures a similar hilarity, but through prose.
The story works on many levels, primarily due to the keen observations of the narrator, Wayne Benson. Even the setting descriptions are expertly woven into the story to give it color and a clear sense of place. But it is the author's uncanny talent for allowing his main character to be candid with his thoughts that makes the story spring brilliantly to life.
If there is a criticism of the novel (and there will always be some) it would be that the antagonist at the turning point is only briefly referred to in the first chapter. A little more description of this minor character at the onset would foreshadow that which follows later on. As it stands, the opening pages are a bit too "perfect." That is, the narrator's "master plan," as he calls it, is just too smooth. A monkey wrench thrown in early on would go a long way to providing a bit of conflict and tension to pull the reader in.
After that, the book sings. I laughed out loud, especially during a certain love scene and the trek to the grocery store. I didn't want the story to end. I hope to see more titles by this gifted writer.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging romp-of-a-read, April 2, 2008
This review is from: Into the Sunset (Paperback)
Wayne Benson is tired of living a complicated life. His needs are pretty simple--quiet time to write, three square meals a day (preferably prepaid and prepared for him), and comfortable surroundings. But where to find all of these things in one place? Enter The Sunset--a retirement community he once toured with his parents, prior to their move to Florida. The only problem? He's thirty-two years too young. Enter Wayne Senior, his alter ego and aged doppelganger, courtesy of a grey wig and stage makeup, complete with cane and a stooped, halting gait (he'll learn not to run for the bus when late).
For a time, Wayne's plan works great. But what he hadn't planned on was the complications of falling for a sexy fellow resident (yes, sixty can be sexy!) and becoming friends with his cranky next-door neighbor. Add a suspicious landlady and a blackmailing security guard, and things soon get way more complicated than Wayne's former young life had ever been.
Perhaps the best part of the book for me (and so much of it was great fun) was moving through Wayne's emotional maturation as he goes from viewing his fellow residents as obstacles to insightful, interesting people. His initial, skeptical view is evidenced by this passage:
"Eventually, the van would arrive in front of the supermarket and park. The driver would stay inside with the engine running and the A/C downgraded from arctic blast to cold front. Slowly the seniors would stir and with the help of a couple of Sunset staffers begin to vacate the vehicle. The legs of walkers and the tips of canes would emerge first, like the tentacles of some strange space creatures trying to blend in with humanity, they would descend on the store, sporting wraparound sunglasses, shawls, light-weight summer sweaters, and fistfuls of double coupons. Aisles would be congested, workers berated, and cashiers interrogated."
Into the Sunset is a lively, engaging, romp-of-a-read, and by the end of the book, Wayne's attitude and understanding have greatly softened--a truly older, wiser and more sanguine Wayne has emerged for us, his readers, and we welcome his rebirth into old age.
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