Customer Reviews

Little Follies

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Several weeks ago a friend recommended that I read LITTLE FOLLIES. He was so insistent and it was such a heartfelt endorsement, I really felt like I had no choice.

What's it about? It's a story within a story, a fictional memoir within a fictional memoir, about growing up in the 1950s. On the surface, everything's sunny; underneath, life in the Long Island town of Babbington is a little, shall we say, odd. Kraft offers sly and hilarious variations on time-honored coming-of-age conventions. He lightly peppers his story with literary allusions, and peoples them with wonderful, oddball characters. His writing is simply wonderful: crisp, clever, occasionally profound. Kraft continues to explore this world in subsequent novels. Begin here, and you'll want to continue with WHERE DO YOU STOP, AT HOME WITH THE GLYNNS, and LEAVING SMALL'S HOTEL, all of which are first-rate.

When I was working on my doctorate I was enrolled in a class about contemporary fiction. This was not surprising, because I majored in English. The professor's attitude, however, surprised me. He thought that any book that should be a classic would be. Sales and word of mouth advertising would bring any obscure book to 'classic' status. When he asked if anyone in the class knew of any great books that were obscure, I was ready with Eric Kraft. The Peter Leroy stories wshould be classics, yet they are not. Maybe, by writing positive reviews through Amazon.com, I can help change that. Yeah, right. Erik Kraft's finely constructed pseudo-nostalgias chronicling the life and times of his alter-ego, Peter Leroy, should be classics. They are written with affection tempered by a sparkling wit that is often too subtle to see the first time around. No problem! The Peter Leroy books are a joy to reread. Originally a series of long stories or short novels, the adventures of Peter Leroy have been collected and expanded upon to please the newcomer. They are about growing up in the '50's, (which I didn't do), and about the New York Coast (where I've never been). Whether you have shared these experiences with Eric Kraft, you will find yourself nostalgic.

This one came into my hands as 1EUR sale item passing Vienna. It was single book worth taking with from the pile of various stuff - and it still was plenty of luck, that it got there, and that I took hold of it. So many qualities of good literature are present in this book, that there is warranty of pleasure for any intelligent reader. Pleasant value even exchanged for full price.

Introduced to me by a friend, it seems this author's work sells by word of mouth, though clearly the critics of The New Yorker, Boston Globe, LA Times, and The New York Times Book Review agree he produces a brilliant brand of fiction unlike any other.

On the surface Little Follies appears to be simply a collection of stories composed of childhood memories. The most obvious components of the work are the comedic, entertaining story lines and quirky characters - the work genuinely defines wit. But, add to that the narrative explanations in each preface of how the story and character were devised, and the reader finds himself diving below the surface to be pleasantly tangled up in multiple layers of fiction. Without question, this is a book that can be enjoyed on many levels.

Loaded with metaphor, literary allusion, and multiple layers of fiction, Little Follies is, simply put, literature for the intelligent reader who does not take himself too seriously. For a thorough sampling of this artist's talent, style, and wit check out his web site.

I have always believed that "word of mouth" is the chief and most important way that any writer can gain notoriety. After all, even the most lavish book promoter must stop promoting after a few months and move on to the next book zooming off the presses. Now maybe Kraft has a great silent underground readership--at least that is my hope, because this few reviews for a writer of his skill is unfathomable.

Not many people can write genuinely funny books. Even when I read comedians, I often have to force an occasional guffaw because I realize the comic is trying so hard to be funny, I owe him or her at least a token display of amusement. But Kraft is hilarious. At first glance, you might not realize it because he doesn't bang you over the head with it, but suddenly,with your first unbidden chuckle, you realize that the guy is a natural comic writer. Please, readers, find this review and the few others about Kraft and begin reading his stuff!

I was introduced to Eric Kraft's writing when a friend came for a visit. He sat down and read aloud "The Static of the Spheres" from The Little Follies. I didn't understand at first why he wanted to do this, as we had a lot of things to see and do. But as he continued reading, I realized that this wasn't your ordinary book. I became so enrapt in the "history, adventures, expreriences and observations" of Peter Leroy that the passage of time took on lesser importance. By the end, when I felt how beautifully the ideas in this story are melded together, all I could do was just sit there and say "Oh,wow." And then, of course, I had to find the book for myself and read all of it. That was a couple of years ago. I have just finished reading it for a second time, and it's even more wonderful.