[NYO]⇒ Read Free The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle Jedah Mayberry 9781938416132 Books

The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle Jedah Mayberry 9781938416132 Books

Download As PDF : The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle Jedah Mayberry 9781938416132 Books

The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle Jedah Mayberry 9781938416132 Books

Here we have a growing up tale of two brothers whose lives take very different paths. When one dies, the other loses sight of who he is, becoming defined through the book by what his dead brother might have been. `Langston' is the older brother of `Trajan.' Langston is also Trajan's idol, "...my whole world," the younger Hopkins boy says at one point. The older boy also seems to be the title character, though that assignation could be given to other roles in the book, as we shall see.
Langston, who as the author states "...entered the world fists balled" receives a debilitating head injury in a fight with school rival named Albert, the brother of Langston's love interest, Angelica. After the fight and the head injury, Langston is left with a seizure disorder. He struggles to find his way, loses Angelica, cannot find a life purpose and lands in police custody. When he dies of a seizure under the stress of being arrested--on spurious charges it must be said--younger brother Trajan is bereft.
So is Langston's mother Dottie, father Chester and grandfather Tuke. But it is Trajan who must now define himself without the role model he once had. Trajan's father, Chester, leaves the family, mother Dottie retires to her bedroom, becoming a recluse and Trajan is left, at a young age, to strike out on his own.
Trajan maneuvers through school activities, a responsible work assignment, casual female friendships and sports. He falls in with a woman who idolized Langston, and who was a one time teacher to both Hopkins boys. Mrs. Quigley and Trajan become lovers, and the clandestine relationship ushers Trajan into adulthood in more ways than one.
returning home from the Quigley house through a snowstorm, Trajan stumbles upon a murder scene, in which a man is dead and a woman survives. The crime is the work of Luscious, a local drug kingpin. For inadvertently covering the criminal's tracks in the snow, Luscious delivers Trajan home. The encounter sets up the climax of the book.
Mr. Mayberry has told quite a story here, a tale that barely masks itself as autobiography, it appears, but in a fictional way. This reader found not one typo, and the work is syntactically excellent and well edited. The writing is quite beautiful. For example: discussing the loss of Langston, Angelica was, "...losing him in a trillion tiny pieces, grains of him sliding past her with magnificent force." Instead of birds and bees, Trajan learns about, "...butterflies and ladybugs." Raucous music on a dance floor is like "...that of cats being pushed from high places." A jock that Angelica clings to is, according to Trajan, "...a muscle on skates."
However, the story contains so many subplots and peripheral themes it is almost unwieldy.
Indeed, that's one of its only shortcomings. It's a good tale, all in all, but the numerous trajectories and character detours subtract from an otherwise fine story. Is it necessary to include the Sessions family history? All the native American background? The Took family's extensive history for that matter? Also, considering the subject matter, the emotional level seems a bit temperate. We don't see Dottie's grief when her older son dies, we only hear of it. We don't feel the tension when Trajan and Mrs. Quigley are nearly discovered in their tryst. We sense the conflict when Luscious and EZ confront each other at the end, when Trajan is in jeopardy as well, but we don't see it, don't smell it, or feel it.
In the end, it is Trajan, the young man who survives the loss of his big brother, the depredations of a drug lord and the absence of a mother or father figure in a hostile world who is the true Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle.
Byron Edgington, author of The Sky Behind Me: A Memoir of Flying & Life


Tags : The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle [Jedah Mayberry] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>Red City Review Annual Book Awards Grand Prize</b> From irascible patriarch Alonzo Grandpa Tuke Tooker on down,Jedah Mayberry,The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle,River Grove Books,1938416139,Bildungsromans,Brothers - Connecticut - Preston,Indians of North America - Civil rights,Minority teenagers - Connecticut - Preston,Police brutality,Preston (Conn.) - Race relations,Fiction - General,Fiction General,Fiction : Literary,FictionLiterary,General,Literary,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle Jedah Mayberry 9781938416132 Books Reviews

I'm always impressed by author's who let you see into their heart and sole when they write. This was that kind of book for me.
I loved it and look forward to his next endeavor.
A great book for me makes you want to race to the end and at the same time slow down as you dread finishing. Such a brilliant author; he has the ability to make you feel as if you're part of the story because he brings each character to life in a wonderful, colorful and dramatic way. Can't wait for the next book!!!
As a long-term resident of S.E. CT, I can attest to this statement. Coming of age for Trajan Hopkins in Preston is deftly displayed through the historic area content, familial interaction along with introduction & development of a host of extremely unique characters. Tasteful & intriguing. Fine job, Jedah.
I really enjoyed this book! The characters are well developed and interesting. Great debut - I can't wait for more!
Every now and then you come across a writer who effortlessly strings words together that read like silk. This is my first time reading a book from this author. I must say for this being his first piece of work, I was thoroughly impressed. The story line focuses on a young boy who finds himself in several peculiar and tragic situations. There were several minor characters, who in my opinion, got in the way of the actual story line and could have easily been main characters in a sequel. This is a credit to how likable the main character is. I'm looking forward to more work from this author.
My personal taste in entertainment tends to run one of two ways. Sometimes I just want the bad guys to wear black hats, the good guys to wear white hats, some satisfying explosions, and the two star-crossed lovers to end up together right at the end. Beer and popcorn - yay! Other times I want a story that makes me pay attention, one where it isn't obvious from the first chapter how the whole thing is going to go, and where the twists aren't there just to show that the author can mess with you. Nice wine and good cheese - yay!

This book is definitely in the second camp. To me at least, I didn't understand at first why I was being told some of the things that were in the story and the setting. But that's ok. I kept reading. And then an event happened that unified a bunch of threads and took the story up a notch in intensity. And the cycle repeated. More stuff that it took a while to understand. Another significant event, tying a lot of threads together and turning the oven up yet once more. And then it repeated again. By the end it all made great sense and I realized that my enjoyment had grown chapter after chapter.
This story broke the mold of what I usually like--there were many POV not separated by any sort of break in the text. Also, the POV flowed from character to omniscient and then back to the characters. But I still loved it just the same. The writing is incredibly lyrical and I got drawn into it. My only quibble was that I felt like the final confrontation at the ending could be drawn out a little more--maybe Trajan could of reflected on the lights of his city and the omniscient narrator could have commented on how much the night time view had changed, but how different peoples and cultures were still butting up against each other...I don't know, it would just have been nice to have something that would have drawn up all the pieces full circle.

Still that is a tiny quibble. 4.5 stars rounded up, because I didn't ever have the urge to skim or jump ahead.
Here we have a growing up tale of two brothers whose lives take very different paths. When one dies, the other loses sight of who he is, becoming defined through the book by what his dead brother might have been. `Langston' is the older brother of `Trajan.' Langston is also Trajan's idol, "...my whole world," the younger Hopkins boy says at one point. The older boy also seems to be the title character, though that assignation could be given to other roles in the book, as we shall see.
Langston, who as the author states "...entered the world fists balled" receives a debilitating head injury in a fight with school rival named Albert, the brother of Langston's love interest, Angelica. After the fight and the head injury, Langston is left with a seizure disorder. He struggles to find his way, loses Angelica, cannot find a life purpose and lands in police custody. When he dies of a seizure under the stress of being arrested--on spurious charges it must be said--younger brother Trajan is bereft.
So is Langston's mother Dottie, father Chester and grandfather Tuke. But it is Trajan who must now define himself without the role model he once had. Trajan's father, Chester, leaves the family, mother Dottie retires to her bedroom, becoming a recluse and Trajan is left, at a young age, to strike out on his own.
Trajan maneuvers through school activities, a responsible work assignment, casual female friendships and sports. He falls in with a woman who idolized Langston, and who was a one time teacher to both Hopkins boys. Mrs. Quigley and Trajan become lovers, and the clandestine relationship ushers Trajan into adulthood in more ways than one.
returning home from the Quigley house through a snowstorm, Trajan stumbles upon a murder scene, in which a man is dead and a woman survives. The crime is the work of Luscious, a local drug kingpin. For inadvertently covering the criminal's tracks in the snow, Luscious delivers Trajan home. The encounter sets up the climax of the book.
Mr. Mayberry has told quite a story here, a tale that barely masks itself as autobiography, it appears, but in a fictional way. This reader found not one typo, and the work is syntactically excellent and well edited. The writing is quite beautiful. For example discussing the loss of Langston, Angelica was, "...losing him in a trillion tiny pieces, grains of him sliding past her with magnificent force." Instead of birds and bees, Trajan learns about, "...butterflies and ladybugs." Raucous music on a dance floor is like "...that of cats being pushed from high places." A jock that Angelica clings to is, according to Trajan, "...a muscle on skates."
However, the story contains so many subplots and peripheral themes it is almost unwieldy.
Indeed, that's one of its only shortcomings. It's a good tale, all in all, but the numerous trajectories and character detours subtract from an otherwise fine story. Is it necessary to include the Sessions family history? All the native American background? The Took family's extensive history for that matter? Also, considering the subject matter, the emotional level seems a bit temperate. We don't see Dottie's grief when her older son dies, we only hear of it. We don't feel the tension when Trajan and Mrs. Quigley are nearly discovered in their tryst. We sense the conflict when Luscious and EZ confront each other at the end, when Trajan is in jeopardy as well, but we don't see it, don't smell it, or feel it.
In the end, it is Trajan, the young man who survives the loss of his big brother, the depredations of a drug lord and the absence of a mother or father figure in a hostile world who is the true Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle.
Byron Edgington, author of The Sky Behind Me A Memoir of Flying & Life