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Being with Henry

by Martha Brooks

Martha Brooks’ latest novel for young adults expands the horizons of the coming-of-age story. Not only does Laker, the 16-year-old protagonist, find himself on the inhospitable threshold of adulthood, but the other main character, Henry, an 80-year-old in failing health, finds himself at a threshold that strips all sentimentality from the term “coming of age.” The two characters meet when Laker, having left home after a violent fight with his stepfather, is begging on the street. Henry picks him up and offers him a place to stay in return for home maintenance work, and what begins as a situation of fragile trust develops into a genuine friendship. As both characters grapple with painful memories and the anxiety of their uncertain futures, they find that the best course of action is charted between the channels of personal responsibility and interdependence.

That the characters develop a few insights is not to suggest, however, that they divine the secret of life’s transitions and retire into cozy satisfaction. This novel, which was expanded from one of Brooks’ short stories, “The Kindness of Strangers” in Travelling on into the Light, is as unrelenting in its emotional authenticity as her other work. Brooks’ writing is particularly strong in its evocation of grief and loss, part of which comes from the complexity of the characterization. There is an acceptance of human imperfection in this story that pays homage to people’s struggle for dignity. There is also, in the intricate motifs of this highly polished novel, the suggestion that what’s fragile and ephemeral in our experience can point to what’s enduring. The ending bears out this idea: abandon your faith in the grand gesture and the pat resolution, and gather what you can from the opportunities of the moment.

 

Reviewer: Bridget Donald

Publisher: Groundwood Books

DETAILS

Price: $9.95

Page Count: 192 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 0-88899-377-3

Released: Nov.

Issue Date: 1999-12

Categories: Children and YA Fiction

Age Range: ages 12+