Customer Reviews

Red Sky at Morning

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My father read to me a passage from RED SKY AT MORNING when I was eleven. He was trying to get me interested in reading the book for myself and chose one of the more memorable scenes. I remember reading it and getting partway into the book and giving up. I just found nothing interesting to the story.

When I turned eighteen, I recalled the book my father told me about many years prior, and picked it up again. What a difference a few years made.

I've literally spent a year getting intimate with this novel. Memorizing every passage, and character development. It's a rare American novel that has very few equal. Many people compare RED SKY AT MORNING with J.D. Salinger's CATCHER IN THE RYE. Both are classic works of literature, and have a very honest look at adolescents, but that's where their similarities end. RED SKY AT MORNING is also a rich look in the life of not just one character, but an entire town as diverse as we are. We grow along-side with those from the small town called Corazon, Sagrado.

Frank Arnold decides to move his family from MOBILE, ALABAMA to a small town in New Mexico where Joshua (our Narrator) spends his Senior year of High School.

RED SKY AT MORNING can be seen as a coming of age story; but it's very much a coming of understanding story as well. The Arnolds came from a mostly White upper class background, where they were the Majority, but by moving to this small town, they are turned into the Minority overnight. Old habits die hard for some, but through exposure others come to accept those who are different.

This is a story that will make you laugh for days. It will make you cry the first time you read it, and the 9th time you read it. It's as bitter-sweet as life itself. I will never come across a book that has touched me as deeply as RED SKY AT MORNING.

It's funny; I've read this book at least 10 times and I see from the reviews here that lots of people have seen fit to revisit Red Sky at Morning.

I, too, grew up in the "real" Sagrado. In fact, Bradford's son and I were briefly acquainted as teenagers. I think the book is more autobiographical than Bradford would like to admit; my aunt has said that almost all of the teenaged characters were recognizable as actual people at the local high school at that time--especially Chango.

Any time I'm homesick, all I have to do is reread the book and I'm right back home again. I'm glad that so many people from so many walks of life have enjoyed it as much as I have. It totally captures, very affectionately, all of the GOOD things about Northern New Mexico--things you wish would stay the same forever.

It's like Catcher in the Rye, but it's warmer. It lovingly represents the wholly unique people of Northern New Mexico, who are unlike people anywhere else in the world. But it also reflects human nature and adaptation through scenes of humor, pain, the clashing and meshing of cultures, and the inevitable unwelcome changes that come with the passage of time. Red Sky at Morning bears witness to the coming of age of Joshua Arnold--the futile battle to remain young and untouched by the uglier side of the world, the bittersweet and inevitable transformation of boy to man. It was originally an allegory, I believe, parelleling Josh's growing pains with those of a post-war America. Ironically, it is now an allegory for what has become of the "real" Corazon, Sagrado--full of bittersweet memories--the end of an old road and the beginning of newer, less innocent one.

Just beware: you won't be able to put it down and you WILL read it again and again. It really is that good.

While I was browsing through the stacks at the library, I noticed that Harper Lee gave this a good blurb. That was good enough for me!

The teenage narrator, Josh, has a really engaging attitude. He has a close relationship with his dad--who, as the novel opens, leaves his Mobile, Alabama shipyard for a stint in the Navy during WWII. Josh and his "Southern aristocrat" mom are supposed to wait out the war at the family's summer home in New Mexico.

This has no adolescent angst or self-conscious soul-searching that marks so many coming-of-age novels. Josh makes good friends at school, has a lot of adventures and meets interesting characters. Josh is open-minded, honest with himself, and is not afraid to ask for help if he needs it. His story is compelling, and every few pages I laughed out loud.

This should definitely be on the required reading list of any high school. For the adult reader, it's the sort of book you can enjoy, pass around to friends, and look forward to reading again.

Richard Bradford has written one of the finest coming of age novels out there. "Red Sky at Morning" is the story of Josh Arnold, his friends, his family, and his environment as he deals with the repercussions a middle aged (41) father enlisting in the WWII Armed Forces and a move to their sometimes summer home in what is called Sagrado (most likely Santa Fe), New Mexico.

Bradford has an eye for detail, masterful rapid-fire dialog, and that rare combination of comedy and poignancy. In some ways this novel brings to mind Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" or Ferrol Sams' terrific Porter Osborne Jr. Trilogy ("Run with the Horsemen", "Whisper of the River", "When All the World Was Young"). Similarities include the teenage protagonist with an influential father, amusing and well-drawn characters, and plenty of thought-provoking interactions and events. One thing that sets this novel apart is its Western setting. Bradford does a terrific job of painting life in New Mexico and what it's like to attend school and come of age in such a diverse and different environment from the Southern one (Mobile, AL) Josh was primarily accustomed to.

Josh is surrounded by colorful characters to include black servants in Alabama, hispanic servants in New Mexico, a minister's daughter (the hilarious Marcia), local classmates and townfolk, his Navy enlisted (ne shipbuilder) father, his more frequently pensive and recurringly drunken mother, the mooching/hayseed/epicene Jimbob, sheriff Chamaco, sculptor Romeo, and the extremely amusing Steenie (son of the town doctor). The adventures Josh gets into with Steenie and Marcia are particulalry inspiring (especially a night in a girlfriend's father's liquor cabinet) and the novel addresses both cultural and life changes in an always thoughtful and often amusing fashion. Josh's somewhat forced maturation process and the experiences of those around him are depicted with a beauty and skill rarely seen. This is one of the best novels I've ever read. Highly recommended.

Everyone has totemic books, books that mean something to them beyond the words on a page. It's a wonderful thing when a book that is special and meaningful is also funny and terrifically written. Yes, it's a coming-of-age story, set in 1942 in the southwest; it's also shrewd and miraculously observant about people and their behavior, about what happens when cultures bump up against each other. I discovered this book when I was fifteen (a new transplant from a city to a small rural town) and immediately fell in love with it. I've given copies to people over the years, and phrases from the book have worked their way into constant use.

It also has the best dead horse scene in literature, a U.S. Army VD training film which is not to be missed, and a scene with an irate father of twins that will blow your socks (and regions nearby) off.

I can't see anyone old enough to appreciate it not loving RED SKY.

It may be set in northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, whether it says so or not)in the 1940s, but it's timeless. Even if times have changed, the emotions this book brings out transcend time. From teenage angst to bigotry to feeling alone in a not-so-familiar place, to making friends and dealing with becoming an adult, this book makes you laugh and makes you wistful. I first got it as an aside from a cousin who said she thought I'd like it. Two days later, I picked it up and then finished it that night at 4:30 AM, despite the fact that I had to be up at 6, because I just couldn't put it down. Several reads later, I still laugh at rotten horses and the ignorant Helen de Crispin, and grow sad at the inevitable march of time and the separation from loved ones. The book is so much deeper than the movie, which I finally found on e-bay, and which is worth watching just to see how much a movie can miss in the translation to the big screen. It's not bad, but the book is just tremendous, and it would've taken one hell of a director and cast to get it right, though some of the story resolutions in the movie seem more... complete I think is the right word. Too bad Richard Bradford only wrote two books in his life (he died a couple of years ago) - this and the slightly less luminous "So Far from Heaven" - but few better-written books you will find anywhere. Why this book isn't part of every required-reading list in high schools across the nation is beyond me. It beats the life out of anything I ever read in high school or college. Thank you, Janice, for introducing me to this book. Now I try to return the favor for everyone I know.

It has been so long since I've had time to read anything fictional. There's not a lot of time in a middle-aged guy's day to spend on fluff like that. Then I ran across this book at an estate sale my wife was dragging me through one day (I collect books but rarely read them) and the short exerpt of Mr. Arnold's admonition to Josh to take care of his mother while he was away on the cover leaf caught my eye. Throughout the book there is a frankness between Josh and his father that I strive for with my son ... sometimes successfully. Mr. Arnold had come to the conclusion that he has brought into the world an intelligent young man and he treats Josh just that way. If more fathers would have a relationship like this with their kids most of this country's problems would disappear in less than a decade! This book is worth more than its weight in 24k GOLD. It will always be one of my most cherished garage sale finds. (Its the fifth printing version of the 1968 release)

Josh, himself, is a smart kid. Perhaps it's because his author is pretty sharp himself as youthful ignorance seems to be missing in much of Josh's observations and narration. Nevertheless, this story takes me back so smoothly, successfully and with such wonderful dead-pan humor that I made time for it almost every night before my eyes slammed shut until I'd read the whole thing. Now I ache for my kids to add this book to their reading experience. Once I read with incredulity of that Southern delicacy called Coca-Cola ham I was hooked and laughed my way through the rest of the book. I fervently hope my kids will too.

My wife is Mexican-American. I was always jealous of the kids that could speak Spanish in school and thus maintain their privacy in a crowd. That makes our kids half Mexican and our son speaks it regularly with his abuela. Our daughter, welllll... I delved into my Spanish/English dictionary, and my wife's knowledge, many times throughout this book because it thrills me to learn what I can of this language in an everyday setting. This being the case, it makes this book doubly good for those who have an interest (if you don't you ought to) in our country's "second" language. Even though many of the phrases may be from a era strange to us now it opens a wonderful and accurate picture into the Hispanic community in a much simpler time. This book will help those of us outside the Hipanic community understand the pride that comes from being born into it and the distinct priviledge of being welcomed into it.

I agree with the other reviews- I saw the movie first, way back in 1971, and then read the book. Both are excellent and, as usually is the case because of the luxury afforded by the printed page, the book was "better." But I also love the movie; it will always have a special place for me because my time of coming of age was synchronized with the release of the movie. Very moving story, wonderful character development, something that will stay with me forever. Now that the book has been re-released, why don't they release the original 1971 movie on a video? With all the magnetic tape wasted on things that should have never been recorded in the first place, this time put the tape to good use!

As many others have said, it's impossible to get tired of this book. My parents gave it to me when I was 18 and (again, like several others) the first time I read it I found it a little slow and disjointed. It gets better and better with every read - each time I pick up on the subtleties of a scene for the first time.

Rather than boring the reader with a bunch of obnoxious capers and hijinks, Bradford envelops you in his characters' community, and it's this day-to-day banality (which turned me off so much the first time) that really draws you into the story. Josh's adjustment to Sagrado takes time, but when it comes it's so natural and amusing that you're almost completely unprepared for the sobering conclusion of the story.

I had no idea the book was so loved until I read these reviews. There are so many special moments in the story - the big wet snowfalls that ruins Chamaco's fiesta, the horribly backward residents of La Cima, the refreshing "white trashiness" of the Cloyd sisters, even Parker Holmes tearing an elk sandwich apart with his teeth.

I wish these characters existed in real life, and I wish I could be their friend.

I was surprised to see that I had not already written a review on "Red Sky At Morning" as I have purchased countless used copies and passed them on to anyone I loved. I decided to simply make a statement recommending this to anyone who loves a well-written book that will make you laugh out loud, cry and quote its words to anyone who will listen. From the perspective of a upper-level literature student, there is enough allegory, bildungsroman, symbolism and carpe diem to make anybody happy.

But like "The Old Man and the Sea," this book can be read on so many different levels. I first picked it up in an airport bookstore at about age 12 in about 1970, intrigued by the description on the cover. But I didn't read it for five years or more. When I finally picked it up again, it spoke to me on levels and in ways that no novel ever has. And I'm 47 years old and a person who devours novels like Elmer's Gold Brick Eggs (a Louisiana Easter tradition - I digress).

I have read it more than probably any other book in the world and it is still fresh and relevant. It makes me laugh and it makes me cry.

God Bless You, Mr. Richard Bradford!