A review by chriswolak
I Sailed with Magellan by Stuart Dybek

4.0

Took me back to scenes from my own childhood in a predominantly Polish neighborhood that was full of taverns and changing fast with the times (born in Chicago, grew up in Cicero). I enjoyed the honesty of scenes such as the one where "alkies" fighting is good for kids because change invariably flies from their pockets, or how a son, an 8th grader at the time, is alarmed by his father's "general obliviousness to gang etiquette in the neighborhood." Such vivid detail creates a strong sense of time and place, one that isn't exactly nostalgic, but is also not full of rage at the past (but there is some of both). Wonderful relationship depictions, too--friends, family, young lovers. Good male coming of age stuff here. I plan on reading more from Dybek.