| THE STARTING BLOCK By Robert McCutcheon |
Publisher: Bellissima Publishing, LLC
ISBN Complete: 0-9776993-8-2
Publication Date: 10/2/2006
Language: English
Book Description (formally called
"Annotation"):
Swimming runs in the Livingstone family, so to speak.
And to sixteen-year-old Teddy Livingstone, as he
follows in the wake of his two older brothers, life
often seems more like a relay race than even he
would like. There is no doubt who anchors that relay.
His oldest brother, Chip, a senior in high school, is
the fastest of the boys in the water, as seems only
right. Billy is the in-between brother: not the
youngest, not the fastest. But Teddy is in between in
his own way. "The Starting Block" tells the story of
the first of three big swimming meets in the suburbs
of 1967 Pittsburgh that make the brothers rivals and
teammates at the same time. The events of that
crucial swimming season forces Teddy to choose
which of his brothers to forgive-Billy for losing or
Chip for winning. Those months hold events for
Teddy besides the hundred free. He falls in love for
the first time, he learns to drive, and he has a falling
out with his best friend. All along he has to figure out
how to think about girls, if your family can be your
friends, whether love can be won or lost like a race. It
helps Teddy to recount those events in his own way;
he likes to think he is ghost writing his life.
Sometimes he speaks in the first person; sometimes
he prefers the distance of the third person. This
method suits his divided self-torn between childhood
and adulthood, between love and the illusion of love,
but above all between brothers. Robert McCutcheon,
a native of Pittsburgh, holds degrees in English
literature from Duke, Oxford and Stanford. He lives in
Elkins, West Virginia, and teaches at Davis & Elkins
College, where he can be contacted most days at
noon in the pool.
Now available in hardcover
Market List Price soft cover
$11.95
Book Type: 6 x 9 in paperback
Page Count: 200
ISBN Complete: 0-9776993-8-2
Publication Date: 10/2/2006
Language: English
Book Description (formally called
"Annotation"):
Swimming runs in the Livingstone family, so to speak.
And to sixteen-year-old Teddy Livingstone, as he
follows in the wake of his two older brothers, life
often seems more like a relay race than even he
would like. There is no doubt who anchors that relay.
His oldest brother, Chip, a senior in high school, is
the fastest of the boys in the water, as seems only
right. Billy is the in-between brother: not the
youngest, not the fastest. But Teddy is in between in
his own way. "The Starting Block" tells the story of
the first of three big swimming meets in the suburbs
of 1967 Pittsburgh that make the brothers rivals and
teammates at the same time. The events of that
crucial swimming season forces Teddy to choose
which of his brothers to forgive-Billy for losing or
Chip for winning. Those months hold events for
Teddy besides the hundred free. He falls in love for
the first time, he learns to drive, and he has a falling
out with his best friend. All along he has to figure out
how to think about girls, if your family can be your
friends, whether love can be won or lost like a race. It
helps Teddy to recount those events in his own way;
he likes to think he is ghost writing his life.
Sometimes he speaks in the first person; sometimes
he prefers the distance of the third person. This
method suits his divided self-torn between childhood
and adulthood, between love and the illusion of love,
but above all between brothers. Robert McCutcheon,
a native of Pittsburgh, holds degrees in English
literature from Duke, Oxford and Stanford. He lives in
Elkins, West Virginia, and teaches at Davis & Elkins
College, where he can be contacted most days at
noon in the pool.
Now available in hardcover
Market List Price soft cover
$11.95
Book Type: 6 x 9 in paperback
Page Count: 200
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Soft cover: $11.95
