Travelers [Library Binding]

Larry Bograd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1986

Haunted by the presence of the father he never knew, seventeen-year-old Jack accompanies a friend to California seeking clues to his father's life and death in Vietnam.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jack Karlstad has never forgiven his father A. J. for getting killed in Vietnam when Jack was only four. Now a senior, Jack wants to find out more about the father he never knew. He leaps at the chance to make a car trip to California with a school friend. Jack intends to look up some of his dad's army buddies on the way, to find out what made the man tickto find out if A. J. wanted to die in Vietnam. Jack eventually reconciles himself to the past and tries to get on with his life. At one point, the story seems to be showing how tough it is to deal with life's ambiguities, especially in the remembrances of each ex-army buddy Jack encounters. But an unfortunately pat ending undermines the novel's credibility. It's an ambitious undertaking to use the Vietnam legacy as a vehicle for a teenager's search for self-identity, but this effort falls short. Bograd's emphasis on sex, drugs and alcohol on the road trip seems gratuitous and grows tiresome.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up This funny, touching novel tells the story of Jack Karlstad, a 17 year old living in a dying Colorado mining town. Jack's dad was killed in Vietnam when Jack was four, and Jack has yet to resolve the pain he feels over this loss. When his rich friend, Wendell, offers Jack a free trip to California, he jumps at the chanceeven if it endangers his relationship with his girlfriendso that he can track down some of his dad's army buddies. In the midst of a series of madcap adventuressetting a motel toilet on fire, for exampleJack "discovers" the person who was his father, accepts him and forgives him for dying. The land around him has always been important to Jack; in accepting his father's death, he begins to appreciate his fellow humans. Bograd has written an entertaining and moving storyone filled with beautifully written descriptions of the land and of the people Jack meets. The language is sometimes rough, and the talk about sex is frequent and crude, yet this is a generally well-written novel with an important message. Elizabeth Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 184 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (March 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0397321295
• ISBN-13: 978-0397321292
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,252,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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