Customer Reviews

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I was two years behind Joe in school, I witnessed many of the incidents he describes. While I disagree with his "pardon" of the atrocities perpetrated by the primary antagonist (Brother James), I enjoyed his true-to-life rendition of the events. However, I must say that, in contrast to the bullies like Brother James, there were many others that were just the opposite--Brothers Declan Claude and Steven Laurence come to mind--that were able to control their tempers and deal with us kids with love and genuine concern for our future.

This book can be read on two levels. The first is the obvious story of a group of teenagers that are risque, comical and eternally bound to one another. The other level is the ability of us all to triumph over injustice.

If you will pardon a Navy vet from a bit of plagiarism, Semper Fi, Joe.

Gerry Stellwagen

This riveting story grabs your attention right from the first page as the author depicts his senior year trials and tribulations growing up in the Bronx, NY. A mis-guided man of the cloth believes his physical and mental attacks on a group of boys will turn them into credible young men. The constant conflict causes an entire school to choose sides. You'll be stunned to see how alliances develop and exactly who is on which side!

You get an in-depth look at a teenager's life in the 1950's.

It is a story of courage and determination. The bond of their friendship is captivating as you will no doubt end up feeling their pain, and sharing in their triumph. You'll have a hard time putting this book down.

Joseph Murphy has written a sure-fire classic.

Murphy's book is great! Makes for easy, relaxing reading.

This book will bring you back to a time when the most important event of the week was, who was going to be your date at the drive-in theatre on Saturday night. Everyone can relate to those carefree years.

I was reading "A White Spoort Coat and a Pink Carnation" while waiting for my wife in a department store, and burst out laughing at the ingenious use of an umbrella while riding an elevator. People must have thought that I was crazy, but I was having a great time.

Recommended for all!

Here is an autobiographical novel, thoughtfully written, that captures life in the Bronx in the 1950's. While the story centers on one event that nearly destroys the futures of the young men involved, it holds our interest by disclosing pranks and capers young and old can relate to.

The younger reader may find it difficult to believe the ego and behavior of a cleric vested with the responsibility of running a large Catholic High School. Believe it! Mr. Murphy's contemporaries will surely attest to the portrait painted.

These are "Ferris Bueller" antics. Anyone who enjoys that kind of material (as I do) - not deep, just fun - will read through the book in one sitting.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having grown up in that era and being a graduate of Catholic schools, it brought back so many memories. Life was much simpler in those days and so we all had fun, were a bit mischievious, and yet still managed to go on to a better life. Things are much tougher today.

a heart warming story about loyalty in the face of unbearable pressure. A fast read; one in which the reader will laugh, cry, and well with pride.You will read it more than once.

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation is a wonderful depiction of a day in the life of four high school seniors in the 1950's at the prime of their life who know the true meaning of friendship, loyalty, and honor. It journeys into the joys and the hardships a young man encounters while attending an all-male Catholic High School. Every page allows the reader of any age to remember what he or she experienced during last year of high school with the simple joys in life like sharing a keg of beer with friends and the worry of what was to happen the day they received their diploma. As the reader moves through the chapters, he or she is eager to discover how these four boy's lives turn out in the end... it can best be viewed as American Graffiti meets Ferris Buller's Day Off.

Romance, innocence and high-spirited fun are all fully captured in Joseph Murphy's book - A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation. Set in the 50's this story depicts the life of a mischievous teenager looking to make the most of his youth, while keeping in mind the goals and dreams he is determined to one day achieve. Mr. Murphy's creative story telling style allows the reader to feel as though he or she is a member of the "Keg Kids" as they dance the night away at the Senior Prom or are sneaking through the night for a birthday bash the gang will never forget. Yet mixed with the good is also the sorrow as Murphy recounts how all actions sometimes have surprising consequences.

For an inspirational read, pick up a copy of Joe Murphy's A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation.

In the book Joe Murphy links true events to capture the ideological, devilish, trusting, uncomplicated, lasting and always faithful friendships of high school seniors in the mid 50's. It was 45 years ago but it seems like yesterday. You will laugh and get misty. You will want to read it more than once.

Murphy takes the reader back to a time when religious education was
memorization, intimidation and terrorization, the urban 1950's in
America. As a product of nearly an identical school yet from a later
era, Murphy gave me a sense of the collective spirit held by students
at such institutions then, a spirit which was very different by the
late 70's. The hopes of past generations weighed on the shoulders of
these students, and far from crack from the pressure, they thrived
upon it.

White Sport Coat made me think about the great difference
in the type of education and experiance that I had as a young man, and
for someone who came of age post Vietnam and post Watergate, White
Sport Coat is a culture shock. A common sense of purpose and a deep
caring for each other is a trademark for each charachter in this
book. It is little wonder that most of those profiled succeeded in
military careers, business careers, and as parents.

Lastly, Murphy
writes of his experiance with the Marist Brothers with an even vision
of the past. Some were caring individuals, some were brutal enforcers,
yet no where does the author destroy the character of those who abused
him and his friends. With age, he has seen that the priests were
entrusted with a task from the parents of the Bronx, and executed it
as advertised. This could easily been a vehicle for admonishing old
standards, but instead Murphy turns the other cheek. Kudos.

For
those wanting a view of what may be known as the building blocks of
charachter, this book unveils the mortar; loyalty.