THE PAPERBOY AND THE SPINSTER

A tween and an older woman with a complicated past become entangled in Berger’s 1950s-set novel.

Eleven-year-old Leonard Lewis delivers the Long Island Press in small-town Witney, New York. He quickly develops a rapport with Betsy Simpson, a former teacher who invites him into her place for hot cocoa. She lives alone with several cats in a perpetually cluttered home. As time passes, Leonard comes to know others on his paper route, such as a man in a wheelchair whose initial churlishness may hide his genuine self. The boy spends hours with Miss Simpson (the developing feelings between the two are mutual, it seems) and soon learns of her reputation among the locals; they call the allegedly promiscuous woman appalling names, which Leonard responds to with fights and a sour attitude, which ultimately affects his job and his schoolwork. Berger spins a taut narrative that spans several years. Leonard is just as multilayered as Miss Simpson; he was 7 when his father died, and his mother rarely shows affection like she used to. The smart, hard-working paperboy is convincingly flawed—he’s prone to careless mistakes, lashing out (“I must have punched him a thousand times before guys pulled me off. His nose dripped blood and he had a split lip”), and habitually ogling Miss Simpson. Others among the sturdy supporting cast include schoolmates with abusive fathers and Miss Simpson’s lively cats (including one who hates nearly every human and a deaf feline who immediately takes to Leonard). All the while, America’s tumultuous mid-50s glide by, though Leonard is largely unaffected. The author, however, showcases history in an entertainingly concise manner, prefacing chapters with real-life New York Times headlines that reference segregation, the Space Race, and the Red Scare. The final act provides resolution as well as illuminating insight into Miss Simpson’s character.

An engrossing coming-of-age story about a clever but troubled boy.