info from goodreads.com
Dan Knight's Journey
By Edward F. Smith
Trade PB 342 pages Published December 29, 2009
Published By Book Surge Publishing ISBN 1439257582
(ISBN 13: 9781439257586)
My breakdown of the story:
The story starts out in the sweltering hot summer of 1945 where 12 year old Danny Knight lives in an apartment with his Mother while his Father is a soldier away at war. By the end of the summer he and his mother move to a different section of the city and Danny befriends a young "thug" named Paddy Trolen and a few other boys in his new neighborhood.He also makes the acquaintance of Bunny Weiss, the neighborhood "Princess". Over a period of time Danny and Paddy develop a habit of pulling off petty crimes by stealing candy bars, soda and other small items from different stores. Bunny and Danny also draw closer together once he convinces her he is not like the rest of the "gang" and she decides to make him her secret boyfriend. Time passes and Danny's father comes home and the family is reunited until 1950 when his parents divorce.. Dad was content to stay at home once workday was done and Mom wanted to socialize and party so they parted ways!Danny and his father move to the West Side of Manhattan into a rougher neighborhood and Danny is enrolled into the local High School where he soon makes more friends with classmates Les Einhorn and Sylvia Torres.He also meets Robert Powers who turns out to be a thief. He and his sister Lauren get Danny to come in on some jobs which allows everyone to come away with a pretty good cut of money once the items are disposed of through Robert's fence.This goes on for awhile until the last job which is a jewelry heist from the hotel where Danny's father is the Night Office Clerk. Things go wrong when Danny's Dad unexpectedly ends up hurt and Danny calls it quits with Robert.Ten years pass and Danny is now 27 years old, a man of supreme confidence in himself which is put to the test when he lands a high pressure job with the ad agency of Drake, Hannah. Dan Knight is now given the chance of a lifetime, he seizes it with both hands and in less than a years time he has had meteoric success as a full time adman, is the youngest Vice President within the agencies history and things are going great guns with both his longtime girlfriend Bunny Weiss and his new love Jennifer Evans.It is 1961 and Dan has come a long way from his rocky beginnings, just when life seems to be perfect Robert Powers enters the picture again, threatening to bring it all crashing down around his shoulders.Thanks to the help of childhood friend Paddy Trolen Dan manages to avert the crisis with Robert, decides that after meeting Jennifer's parents she is not for him and in a very unexpected twist the story of Dan Knight is done.... My thoughts about the book: Dan Knight is a very enjoyable character, he is the quintessential "bad boy" that your Mother warns you about as a young woman when boys start taking an interest in you!He is also at times a veritable "cad" when he is younger and indulges in petty thievery with his buddy Paddy, which of course evolves into major theft at 17 when he hooks up with Robert Powers..However, I enjoyed his journey from young child to grown man. The story is all told from Dan's POV and is very much like a "daily diary" of events. There were times when the descriptions of every little detail of clothing and hair and food bogged the reading down but for me it was never boring just a little too much information...I liked this book, it is a detailed look at the life of one young man. A man who took what life had to offer and grabbed onto it with both hands wholeheartedly, using grit and determination and hard work to succeed with a little help when it was offered. A man I would maybe hesitate to call a friend but who would be fun to hang out with for sure!
About the author:
Edward F. Smith is a former business executive, now an active writer and a reviewer of
new fiction. Born and raised in Manhattan he attended the High School of Commerce and
Pace College. He is currently at work on a new novel.
Author Website/Blog forthcoming in 2011
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