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July 11, 2006
-- Book review --
Catching a good book
By Stefan Koski
Tim Temples has just finished high school. He's young,
popular, athletic, and has all the girls chasing after him. At the start of his
summer vacation he's at the top of his game, but now he has college looming only
a few months away. He's starting to have visions of his
local fame vanishing into nothing once he leaves his hometown of Mattoon for the
University of Illinois in Champaign. On top of that he must also contend with
the older female co-worker, Helena, that he has started seeing, whom he must
also face the possibility of leaving behind when he departs for college -- unless,
of course, he decides to
not go to college at all.
Will Leitch, author of Life As A Loser, a book that contained a series of
essays about the adventures and failings of his own life, has chosen a
fictitious platform to discuss the adolescent exploits of Tim Temples. With the
novel Catch, Leitch explores Tim's largely psychological challenges of
maturing, letting go, and understanding a great deal more about himself. At the
first the reader might be taken back by having a main character who seems to
lead such a perfect life complain about the uncertainties of his future. (Forget
sneaking alcohol into a party – the 18-year-old Tim gets as much free beer as he
wants when he goes to the local bar.) That sentiment is diminished, however,
once he meets Helena.
Twenty-three-year-old Helena adds a million other complications to Tim's
post-high school plans. Will their relationship last after the summer? Is he
really falling in love with her? Does she feel the same way about him? The love
affair levels Tim from the resident all-star to the teenager who has to deal
with the same issues that all other teenagers encounter at some point. The
fluctuations in Tim's thoughts and emotions create a confused character that
anyone can identify with.
The style and wit of Leitch's writing makes the otherwise cliché coming-of-age
story an exceptional read. With deft prose he weaves details of Tim's overweight
co-workers, intoxicated bar flies, high school pals (“the Horsemen,” as they're
called), and other local
personalities. Infused with the text are numerous sports analogies – Tim happens
to be a baseball player – that illuminate dramatic situations with unusual
depth.
The humor also keeps everything lively. At one point Tim describes a proposed
plan by saying, “This is a bad idea. This is a terrible idea. This is the guy
who told Noah, ‘Hey, no thanks, man, it's a beautiful day for a swim.’” Even the
standard profound dream sequence is punctuated with, “And then Godzilla comes
and sets a cornfield on fire. I don't know what that part was about.”
It's Leitch's personal touch to the story, much of it undoubtedly inspired by
his own experiences growing up in the small Illinois town of Mattoon, that makes
this typical teen story a superb book.
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