micki1961's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this novel about Schenectady and Steinmetz, a crippled electric scientist. Young people in a dying town.
lizdesole's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this coming of age romance set in a contracting upstate New York town in the 60s. It's a bittersweet story that tries to reach beyond what it is. While it was not successful in the reach, it was still an enjoyable attempt. The main story is a teenage love triangle that highlights the tensions between the old moneyed Dutch, the newly arrived Jews and the native American population. This was the successful part.
Where the book fell short for me was in the attempt to also include the story of Charles Steinmetz into the mix. It was a story worthy of a book itself and would have been better served that way. I found the two stories competed too much. Unfortunately the story with more potential for me (the Steinmetz story) was overshadowed by the love story. Also, I find it difficult to read a story written from so many narrators when they all share the same voice. The teenagers spoke and thought in a much too mature manner and it was difficult to immediately distinguish one narrator from the other
Where the book fell short for me was in the attempt to also include the story of Charles Steinmetz into the mix. It was a story worthy of a book itself and would have been better served that way. I found the two stories competed too much. Unfortunately the story with more potential for me (the Steinmetz story) was overshadowed by the love story. Also, I find it difficult to read a story written from so many narrators when they all share the same voice. The teenagers spoke and thought in a much too mature manner and it was difficult to immediately distinguish one narrator from the other
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