ONE MORNING, FOR PLEASURE

by John Deck ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 1968

Actually, about one sad, self-conscious week in the sex-ridden life of Lee Doran, a fifteen-year-old former school athlete, would-be pop singer, currently Southern California average teenage boy. This week, his grandfather is dying, and the family gathers from as far east as Oklahoma. Lee must contend with extra household duties, but in his off hours he has his first homosexual encounter, loses his girlfriend, saves a stranger from rape, smokes several packs of Philip Morris, and gathers insights into life. The teenaged characters emerge clearly: Lee's four acne-prone friends, his girl Chris with notably big ""lamps,"" his cultivated eleven-year-old cousin (who teaches Lee the value of family feeling), and Marty, the show-biz kid. The oldsters blur together, all upholders of the old-fashioned virtues, which Lee, and the author, have assimilated. The young author knows the kids he knew as a child. The book shows talent, but mainly talent still out of control. Clearly, Deck is trying for Catcher In the Rye in California, and while sometimes he does manage to be funny--usually intentionally, mostly he doesn't succeed.

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & World

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION