Customer Reviews

Whistling In the Dark

5 star:		(115)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Whistling in the Dark" is an endearing tale about the "O'Malley sisters," Sally and Troo, 10 and 9 years of age, and their summer chalked full of turmoil and suspense. Their mother becomes gravely ill leaving them to be tended by a drunken stepfather, a disinterested older sister, and a neighborhood full of delicous, eccentric characters. Set in 1959, the book remembers days of lazy summers filled with "red rover," "green light, red light," and playground antics. Though seemingly the era of innocence, darkness hides in the shadows, and Sally and Troo stumble upon it in it's most dangerous form. Thankfully, the O'Malley's have enough family and neighbors in their arsenal to allow this book to be enlightening, humorous, and charming, as well as intense.

Ms. Kagan has the ability to make the reader experience belly laughter, jitters, tingling fear, and sentimental sadness. Descriptions and dialogue are colloquial, while the plotline turns the pages for you. Gift yourself to this summer treat.....you won't regret it.

Told from the perspective of a young girl, Sally O' Malley, this is the kind of summer read that can change your life - or make you remember a world you used to know, if you grew up during the 50s.
From start to finish, I was completely enthralled. Sally is a totally believable child and she has a combination of innocence, kindness and common sense that is unique. She also has great intuition, which eventually lets her sense when true danger is around (although she takes a few wrong turns along the way).

I don't know how to best categorize this book - is it the tale of two sisters who learn to turn to each other when crisis strikes? Is it a suspenseful murder mystery? There is certainly great danger, in the form of a child murderer, true evil in a world full of 50s nostalgia, standing out even more against the contrast of simpler times, long summers and kind neighbors.

To add to the drama, Sally and her sister, Troo, are nearly on their own for the summer, while their mother recuperates from a long illness. Yes, sister Nell is supposedly in charge, but she is far more preoccupied with her boyfriend and other distractions to do a proper job. SO Troo and Sally have to depend on each other. They have intensely different personalities but an equally strong bond.

Don't ignore the Conversation Guide by author Leslie Kagen, at the back of the book. It offers insight into how she actually wrote this novel, not something she had a great deal of confidence in actually completing. She came up with a superb, heartwarming work, full of heart, suspense and a master's touch at evoking time and place.

Told from the point of view of 10 year old Sally O'Malley, this story is a brilliant mix of living history (I didn't live in the 50's, but I felt like I did, reading this), thriller (there's a child murderer on the loose in the streets), and simple drama. At points, I was convinced, like sally, of who the murderer was, simply because of the evidence Sally had that no one else would see or understand. Her black and white vision of the world is often at odds with what I understand must have been going on, but because of the way the story is told, I saw through her eyes.

Sally is a great character whose true heart shines through the whole book. Though there are great hardships in her life, she sticks with her sisters and sees through to the end. Supporting characters like Nell, the older sister who is to care for her siblings but spends more time "exercising" with her boyfriend, Hall, the abhorrent stepfather, and the rest of the cast really pull the story along. And the background plot keeps it moving.

A great read!

(*)>

Sally O'Malley knows what's really going on. At least, she knows more than any of the adults in her life would believe possible. It is 1959, and Sally is missing her father, who recently died in a car accident which occurred in the company of Sally's uncle and her little sister Troo. Sally made some promises to her father before he died, and the most important is that she would look after her sister. Sally, who is delightfully earnest, has every intention of following through to the letter. In the meantime, someone is murdering and molesting little girls on Vliet street, the street where Sally is now living after her mother's hasty remarriage to her new stepfather, Hall. Sally thinks she knows who is up to no good, and all she is hoping for is to protect her sister and her self. This will be difficult, as Sally's mother is in the hospital, and the rumors are that she might never be coming out. Sally and Troo are on their own.

I so enjoyed this book. Sally was a wonderful character. As with all children, Sally was aware of so many of the things going on in the community. She might have drawn the wrong conclusions, but only because of her lack of experience. The most difficult part about reading this book was that I longed to throw my arms around both Sally and Troo (they were so lovable), and bring them to my house to protect them from the things that threatened them. The book is less a mystery than a coming of age story, but the mystery aspect of the story was satisfying as well. There were also many poignant moments in this book that brought the hint of tears to my eyes, especially those related to parents and children. I don't want to give anything away as far as storyline, so let me just say, read this book! You won't be sorry.

Set in 1959, WHISTLING IN THE DARK follows two tough little girls through an ominous summer. Their mother is in the hospital fighting for her life, their step-father has abandoned them for booze and another woman, and their older sister is too wrapped up in her boyfriend to tend to them. So it's the O'Malley girls alone--imaginative Sally, and sassy Troo, the little sister Sally promised her dead father she'd keep safe--running wild on Vliet Street, a neighborhood filled with colorful characters, and, at least one very dark individual who has molested and murdered two little girls. Sally is convinced she's going to be his third victim.

This wonderful book is told in a voice that will tug at your heart, and a plot that will keep your mind engaged until the last page. Yes, the plot is grave, but Kagen manages to weave enough wit and warmth into this story to make it a thoroughly uplifting read. I absolutely adored this book, and have placed Lesley Kagen at the top of my list of favorite contemporary writers.

Sandra Kring
author CARRY ME HOME and THE BOOK OF BRIGHT IDEAS

It felt like the author looked up every "written-by-spunky-child" cliche since To Kill a Mockingbird and slapped them into this book. No surprises, in plot or characterization. I've read this story, met these kids, in better literary form, many times.

The voice, at it's best, was similar to "A Girl Named Zippy" a book which truly was funny and sweet because it was real and unassuming. Contrarily, I felt like the author, in this book, was giving space for me to warmly chuckle or go "awwww" after every precious thing the girls thought or did.

In all fairness, I DID want to know who the bad guy was, but it was very trying to wade through the book to find it out.

Stick with Mockingbird or Zippy.

A large generosity of spirit and a genuine respect for the anguish of a tormented child animate Lesley Kagen's moving debut novel, "Whistling in the Dark." Set in a working-class neighborhood of Milwaukee during the summer of 1959, "Whistling" focuses on Sally O'Malley's confrontation with loss, guilt and fear. Suffering from the death of her father, suffused with a sense of shame for some unnamed wrongdoing and frightened over the sudden hospitalization of her mother, Sally navigates the currents of childhood without the stabilizing comforts of a coherent family. Instead, she endures a coarse, cruel step-father whose drunken forays leave Sally and her indomitable younger sister Troo virtually homeless.

Kagen has created a believable late 50s sensibility, and her O'Malley protagonists bounce between comforting households and quirky characters in their unceasing efforts to bring some sense of stability to their lives. Their older sister is indifferent to their plight, consumed as she is with her burgeoning bust and raging hormonal attraction to a boyfriend who best resembles Eddie Haskel of "Leave It to Beaver" fame. Sally and Troo skillfully endure their loneliness; the latter with a combative assertiveness and the former with an introspective concern. Heightening Sally's sensitivity is her awareness that the neighborhood is no longer a safe haven, not after two of its young girls were discovered murdered after being sexually molested.

"Whistling" succeeds on several levels. The novel manages to combine a compelling narrative with a bittersweet nostalgia. Those of us who grew up in the 1950s will attest to the accuracy of Kagen's descriptive detail; her depiction of the coherence of a single street in a well-defined community is a singular strength of the book. The author also permits a chalky residue of foreboding to permeate the misadventures of the protagonists with their friends. Homosexuality, teen-age sexual experimentation, spousal abuse and parental cruelty appear; if muted, these social ills are never ignored. In fact, Kagen's understatement of what would now be considered glaring social problems enlarges their impact. The novel does engage in some stereotypical depictions, the most glaring of which is Kagen's characterization of an otherwise strong African-American woman.

Increasingly, modern American women authors are exploring the impact of family and community on the emotional development of young girls. How girls become women -- through their interpretation of community, friendships and trauma -- is of importance to both male and female readers. "Whistling in the Dark" teaches us that even young girls can summon the courage to face the torturous burdens of loss and guilt, and emerge as confident, compassionate young women.

There are a handful of books I have read that grieve me when finished. Whistling in the Dark is one of those books, I was saddened when the story was over. I was stole to another place and time and I didn't want to leave! Definitely a "chick read" but one to be cherished forever.
This is an excellent read - transports you back in time - lovely characters and story line.
Thank you for the magical experience!

WHISTLING IN THE DARK

We meet the O'Malley sisters, Sally and Troo, left to fend and take care of themselves in the summer of 1959. Their mom is in the hospital, their step-father is a drunk loser, and their older sister is too busy being with her boyfriend instead of taking care of her little sisters.

The cast of characters in this novel are great. The girls live in Milwaukee on Vliet Street, a very ethnic neighborhood, where everyone knows everyone and everything about everybody! We meet awesome and not so awesome neighbors such as Greasy Al, Uncle Paulie, Mr. Gary, Mary Lane, Fast Susie. Life from Sally, the narrator's point of view, is so funny and innocent. For instance, she thinks her one neighbor sells silverware because he works for Frankie the Knife.

Life is tough for these two little girls, but they are troopers. They are alone and have the run of the neighborhood. Sally is more innocent and sweet, a huge daydreamer. Troo is younger, but tougher and more street-smart. They are close as sisters can be and would do anything for each other. The situations, conversations, characters, and story-line make this one great book. The author does a wonderful job of blending many story lines. There is a child molester/murderer on the loose and I have to tell you -- I thought I had figured out who done it several times, but was totally wrong and totally surprised when that person is revealed.

This is Miss Kagen's first novel and hopefully not her last. She can tell quite the story and that story packs quite the punch. I was hooked on the first page and hated to see this book come to an end.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone. You will not be sorry you read it. ENJOY!!!!

Thank you!

Pam

some of the storyline and characters were a bit unrealistic to me. For one, I don't quite understand why author Kagen chose to make Sally and Troo just ten and nine years old. They act and speak much older than their years. She could have made them at least eleven and twelve--even twelve and thirteen--to make them appear more believable, especially since the setting is 1959 Midwestern America, a time and place in which there was much more naivete and innocence in children.

The mystery of the identity of the murderer is captivating, however, and kept my attention. The reader begins to believe Sally's suspicions, but is then thrown off course by other clues.

Character development is quite good regarding the main characters, but I found that some of the secondary characters are pure stereotypes. Still, Whistling in the Dark is an entertaining novel that moves quickly (not sure why some readers thought otherwise), with short chapters and not many extraneous details. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy mysteries, nostalgia, and coming-of-age stories.