Title: The Bright Freight of Memory
Author: Greg Fields
Genre: Literary; Coming of Age
Book Length: 289 Pages
Format Read: PDF
Year Published: November 19, 2024
Date Started: October 30, 2024
Date finished: November 1, 2024
This story follows two friends, Matthew Cooney and Donal Mannion from childhood to adulthood. The chapters go between the two boys’ stories sharing each of their upbringing and the hardships they endured. Both grew up poor and had to learn to adapt to their environment. Their fathers were not in their lives and their mothers raised them quite differently. Matthew was ambitious and curious and was always on the lookout for something to do. Donal was opposite of Matthew and preferred to lay low. He wasn’t ambitious but he knew that at some point in his life he would have to take responsibility for his choices. The two friends’ lives move in different directions and, by chance, meet again in a bittersweet situation.
This was a lovely story about friendship and growing up in poverty. It depicts the struggles of childhood and how it can lead to hardships in adulthood. I enjoyed the two stories and how different each of the boys’ lives were. There were lots of interesting and realistic insights throughout. One that stood out to me was that we can never truly know the outcome of our life based on our childhood. For instance, I thought Matthew was going to make it big but was surprised at his outcome. And, Donal, being “lazy” in his ways, would make me believe that he would end up nowhere made something of himself. What I found out of place was near the end of the story, where it shifted to Donal’s girlfriend’s third limited-person perspective. Her character lacked depth in relation to the overall story, making her point of view unnecessary. I would have preferred staying with Donal’s to tie everything together.
Who should read this book: If you enjoy literary themes and coming-of-age stories, this one is excellent.
From My Corner of the Universe 
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