Carvel Daze : A Mischievous Kid In The Hippie Generation Speaks
Chris Garcia
4 stars
Pages: 177
Genre: Memoir, Humour
Published: 22 April 2022
Publisher's Blurb
Houston, Texas, circa 1967. A large family with a mischievous kid - the younger brother of the Hippie Generation - moves from Kansas City to an island suburb, Sharpstown, that still offers an opportunity for independent play and adventure, where the spirits of Tom and Huck might still run free.
Review
CARVEL DAZE: A
mischievous kid in the hippie generation speaks, is
a memoir of Chris Garcia’s childhood in a suburb of Houston, Texas where he
lived with his parents, his Grandmother, his 7 brothers and sisters plus
Charlie Brown the dog.
The tales of ‘The Crazy 8’, their Mexican Grandmother and the psychotic ‘flying’ dog are collected here to both entertain and also to give a glimpse into the past which as L.P.Hartley once said, “is a foreign country: they do things differently there”
I’m
of an age where playing in the street until it got dark, disappearing with your
mates all day in the woods and creating your own games and entertainment were
all a part of growing up. Busy roads, stranger danger, video games and satellite
TV were all things to come in the future and would eventually disrupt the
innocent times that we only started to appreciate once they were gone.
If
you are my age or older (born in the swinging sixties) then reading this
collection of anecdotes should trigger some fond memories.The story unfolds in an easy to read flowing style that doesn’t dwell on any single recollection longer than it needs. The author writes in a witty and self-deprecating way that endears the reader to both him and the rest of the young Garcia clan.
The centrepiece of the book includes photos of all of the author’s family as well as some of the events and items featured in the stories. A nice touch that helps bring life to the various people (and dog) that grace the pages of this well written and emotional biography.In summary, this is a funny and nicely related tale of childhood innocence, family and friendship that transported me back to my youth when the world was a much simpler place and homemade entertainment was very much the norm.
Buy on Amazon
Reedsy Discovery
The Author
Chris Garcia is a published writer and nature photographer. His first book, Carvel Daze, is a humorous memoir about his boyhood antics growing up as the middle child in a family of eight, during the hippie generation. His photography is focused on the little miracles that take place just outside our doors.
Chris Garcia was born in Kansas City and raised in Texas, “good cowboy stock” as he likes to put it, which means he knows something about barbecue and how to smoke a brisket. It does not mean, however, that he knows how to cowboy. Published once previously on the cover of Inside Houston Magazine, he waited until now to publish again, waking on the back nine from a very deep sleep and teeing this book up as he plays out the tail end of his round. His golf game is a little rusty these days, so take shelter everyone because after long breaks this man has actually driven balls into the windshields of two moving vehicles.
___________________________________________________________
If you have a book you'd like to be featured on the blog you can submit it by emailing torchwood1968@gmail.com
or by contacting me on Twitter https://twitter.com/kevin_cannon
Fancy becoming a book reviewer - check out Reedsy Discovery and earn $25 for your first review
_______________________________________________________________________
Comments
Post a Comment