I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. A number of similarities between this book and my family life, (including my living in New Jersey as a child, getting into punk rock & atheism as a teenager, as well as my father's military service and California linguist school training) made the novel highly appealing. The house shows, trainhoppers, dumpstering, and late night adventures all sounded right. The struggling against conformist religious pressures sounded right. The joining the military to escape a tough situation sounded right. But then things started getting silly and over the top... Snorting coke off a peacenik foreigner's breasts and getting arrested/thrown out of the military? Freeloading with some random veteran he hitchhiked with while he was a fugitive? The conversion to Christianity, the subway hunt, the missionary work, the spy games? It was all just too much nonsense after a fairly strong and realistic start. Wish it could've stayed on track. ( )

Description:

A modern day coming-of-age story detailing the life and decisions of Sammy Harvitz; a dissatisfied teen on a voyage of self discovery, who doesn't really know what he's looking for, or what he wants in life. His attempts at finding himself lead to many strange places, including the punk-rock scene, the army, prison, and the streets; and the decisions he's faced with - good or bad - ultimately lead him to unexpected conclusions about himself and his generation.

Review:

At first glance, I wondered what the title, Harvitz, As to War, alluded to, as well as why the cover had a "home-made" permanent marker and duct-tape theme going on., but I liked the overall cover presentation. After reading, I realized that the "war" was inside Sammy and that the cover was the perfect representation of his mentality: imperfect, young, and unsettled - a modern wanderer. It took me about 75 pages to actually get into the book and get a hint as to what was going on. This was partially because Sammy's logic was so strange, and because there were a few sections that felt "clunky" and had to be reread, but after the lull, I really started to enjoy reading about Sammy's trials and tribulations, no matter how ridiculous, painful, or depressing. Sammy was really easy to sympathize with, but I felt that his overall character was a bit lacking, I never got a clear picture of him or his personality because he seemed to make random decisions and was a complete follower throughout the book; always making changes based on the opinions/styles of others. I think that it would have been easier to understand him if I had known "when" certain events were happening; there was no real way to plot out a timeline for his character, so I had no idea if months or years had passed throughout the story. The plot-line was confusing at times, but still entertaining, although the ending was very abrupt and left me wanting for some sort of conclusion never written. The author page photo kind of reminded me of Sammy, which was a really cool idea - intended or not, but I think a readers discussion or guide would have been useful too. Overall, Ben Nadler's first novel is definitely worth the read, and I am interested in reading other books he pens, especially if there is some sort of continuance. Recommended for teens and adults looking for an interesting coming-of-age story where change doesn't always come easy.

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author, (LibraryThing Early Reviewers) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. ( )

Sammy Harvitz is fighting his own war trying to figure out his purpose is in the world. It's an interesting coming of age story. I just have not been able to finish it yet but will try again because I am determined to see how it ends. ( )

Needed to think about this one before reviewing it.
Start with a positive. An easy read and a fair first novel for the author. Nadler has a unflourished style.
The title is an enigma. Is there a symbolism or reference there that I missed? The protagonist, Sammy, is not some one easy to sympathize with. His experiences are rather pedestrian in today's world, but I did not find any way to related to or care about him. His emotions were flat. Was it an attempt to portray some one with Aspergers?
The story itself ends so abruptly the reader is really left with no conclusion. There's not even enough given for the reader to really draw a conculsion for himself.
Perhaps the author bit off more than he could chew by trying to make this an example of post-modern liteature, or even the next wave yet to be named (but believed by some critics to have a start in the US after the events of 9-11). ( )

I had a very difficult time getting into this book. The first hundred pages or so were like wading through mud. After struggling through those, I was pleasantly surprised at how engaged I was with Sammy's character. You begin to thoroughly care for his well-being and hope for a good life for him, despite his seemingly endless stream of bad decisions. This was not my usual fare, but by the end of the story I was astounded at how raw it felt. I felt "kicked in the gut" so-to-speak. The ending, while completely unexpected, was the most perfect end I could have come up with. ( )