THE PARATROOPER OF MECHANIC AVENUE

by Lester Goran ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 20, 1960

Never a paratrooper, not even an honorable discharge, is Ike-O Hartwell, born in a Pittsburgh tenement toilet of a slovenly Polish mother and an alcoholic father. Ike-O's life is punctuated by his protective love for his downtrodden parent, Rosie, and, later, for the long-legged Dolly, sister to whores, but pure in her devotion to him. When Ike-O defers to his mother's wishes and postpones marrying Dolly until he has completed military service, the girl is seduced and ""nobly"" bears a child. Ike-O, in whom a powerful but uninformed belief in virtue resides, is consumed with hatred for Dolly, his Dolly whom he loves and who taunts him by being just as much a slut as all the others who have come too easily to him. His inability to translate his love into understanding drives Dolly to a highly unsatisfactory marriage and banishes him to the limbo which is his birthright. Vigorously written, this is a sad and moving story of universal guilt and terrifying innocence, which takes a small segment of American life and penetrates it with painful fidelity.

Pub Date: July 20, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960

Categories: FICTION