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Bluesman
It is the summer of 1967 and, with one more year of high school to go, Leo Suther still has a lot to learn. He's in love with Allie Donovan, the beautiful girl who has turned his head ever since she moved to his small Massachusetts town. And he feels a real draw to the blues his father has taught him. Leo soon finds himself in the middle of a consuming love affair - and an intense testing of his political values by Allie's father, who challenges him on the escalating Vietnam conflict and forces him to examine just where he stands in relation to the people in his life. Throughout his - and the nation's - unforgettable 'summer of love', Leo is learning the language of the blues, which seem to echo the mourning he feels for his dead mother, his occasionally distant father, and the youth that is fast giving way to manhood.
277 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1993
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672 people want to read
About the author
Andre Dubus III
39 books1,125 followersAndre Dubus III is the author of The Garden of Last Days, House of Sand and Fog (a #1 New York Times bestseller, Oprah’s Book Club pick, and finalist for the National Book Award) and Townie, winner of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. His writing has received many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Magazine Award, and two Pushcart Prizes. He lives with his family north of Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
November 25, 2019
This is a coming of age story. The setting is small-town Massachusetts, the summer of 1967. Leo Suther, seventeen years of age, falls for Allie Donovan. Of course, she is pretty. She is sixteen. Both have just completed their junior year in high school. The summer lies ahead. She is working in the village café. He is working for Allie’s father. He is one of a team of four constructing a house from scratch. Take one guess what happens.
Let me put this straight right from the start. The story, the plotline, is conventional. This is why I am not giving it more stars.
It is how the story is told that makes it worth reading. The prose and the dialog are what attract.
An atmosphere is drawn that is pitch-perfect for the sixties. Hot summer days and kids brimming over, pulsing with sex. They scarcely understand what is happening to themselves. There is a lot of talk about penises and boobs and masturbation and sex. If this is going to bother you, then skip the book. The thing is, at this age, one is turned on to sex. It is not the sex that is particularly well drawn, but all the rest--the kids, their parents, the place, the era, the blues.
Dubus captures how it is to be young and alive. He also captures the confusion typical of adolescence. The sixties were the so-called age of free-love. All was allowed. Right? Or was it? These kids are caught up in the dilemma of figuring out what they want to do with their lives. They are kids of working-class families. They are not academics. The Vietnam War menaces, but what in reality do they understand of that? It is distant. It is not of their everyday world. No longer tethered to parents, they are free, but free to do what? It is this they do not know.
Leo is drawn to music; he has been raised by a father with music in his bones. His mother died when he was five. Over this summer he learns about his mom, about her poetry, about how his parents met and fell in love. And of the importance of the blues in their lives. The blues is the music they were swept up in and Leo is swept up in blues music too. The blues sets the tone for the book. A tune, a ditty, the plucking of a guitar string, harmonicas and blues harps, a game of poker, a six-pack of cold beer--these are the backdrop of the tale. The low pitched melodies that typify blues songs evoke a sadness and a mystery that encompass the tale told.
The author reads the audiobook. I cannot imagine the book read by anyone but him. I don’t really like how it is read; his tone is so flat. The thing is, the flat droning tone perfectly fits a book so intimately tied to the blues. For this reason, I have given the narration four stars. It should be read just as it is read.
**************
*Townie 4 stars
*Bluesman 3 stars
*House of Sand and Fog 3 stars
Let me put this straight right from the start. The story, the plotline, is conventional. This is why I am not giving it more stars.
It is how the story is told that makes it worth reading. The prose and the dialog are what attract.
An atmosphere is drawn that is pitch-perfect for the sixties. Hot summer days and kids brimming over, pulsing with sex. They scarcely understand what is happening to themselves. There is a lot of talk about penises and boobs and masturbation and sex. If this is going to bother you, then skip the book. The thing is, at this age, one is turned on to sex. It is not the sex that is particularly well drawn, but all the rest--the kids, their parents, the place, the era, the blues.
Dubus captures how it is to be young and alive. He also captures the confusion typical of adolescence. The sixties were the so-called age of free-love. All was allowed. Right? Or was it? These kids are caught up in the dilemma of figuring out what they want to do with their lives. They are kids of working-class families. They are not academics. The Vietnam War menaces, but what in reality do they understand of that? It is distant. It is not of their everyday world. No longer tethered to parents, they are free, but free to do what? It is this they do not know.
Leo is drawn to music; he has been raised by a father with music in his bones. His mother died when he was five. Over this summer he learns about his mom, about her poetry, about how his parents met and fell in love. And of the importance of the blues in their lives. The blues is the music they were swept up in and Leo is swept up in blues music too. The blues sets the tone for the book. A tune, a ditty, the plucking of a guitar string, harmonicas and blues harps, a game of poker, a six-pack of cold beer--these are the backdrop of the tale. The low pitched melodies that typify blues songs evoke a sadness and a mystery that encompass the tale told.
The author reads the audiobook. I cannot imagine the book read by anyone but him. I don’t really like how it is read; his tone is so flat. The thing is, the flat droning tone perfectly fits a book so intimately tied to the blues. For this reason, I have given the narration four stars. It should be read just as it is read.
**************
*Townie 4 stars
*Bluesman 3 stars
*House of Sand and Fog 3 stars
November 5, 2024
The first time I read this book in 2010, it helped get me out of the worst crippling depression I have ever experienced. I thought about death almost every single day. It was the opposite of fun. I had minimal will to push forward for almost an entire year and I think it's difficult for some to normalize that type of honest, forthright discussion.
Seven years later, I returned to the same cold room with some weights and accomplished a handful of cool things, including some songs, published writing and kind written words from other humans. The journey is so difficult sometimes, but I am so grateful for words, books, and people who make a continued effort to try and connect with you because they recognize or sense when someone else is going through a rough patch and know what it's like to heal from trauma.
Bluesman still holds a very special place on my bookshelf. A treat for all and brilliant piece of literary art.
Seven years later, I returned to the same cold room with some weights and accomplished a handful of cool things, including some songs, published writing and kind written words from other humans. The journey is so difficult sometimes, but I am so grateful for words, books, and people who make a continued effort to try and connect with you because they recognize or sense when someone else is going through a rough patch and know what it's like to heal from trauma.
Bluesman still holds a very special place on my bookshelf. A treat for all and brilliant piece of literary art.
May 3, 2017
The unfortunate side effect of an amazing book. Quite common, occurs more frequently than not. To what do I refer? The next book one reads by that author. To be fair, Andre Sinus III's "Bluesman" was published long before "The House of Sand and Fog" (this is notably his debut novel), but the result is the same. Try as I might to be reasonable, high expectations that are almost certainly not met.
A great book, by all means. "Bluesman" follows Leo Suther in his final year before adulthood. It is the summer of 1967, and friends are being drafted for the Vietnam War. Leo lives in a small Massachusetts town in the Connecticut River Valley with Jim, his father. He falls in love with local beauty Allie Donovan, son of Chick Donovan, a man who hires him for construction/roofing for the summer and he soon finds out to be a devout Marxist Communist. He is also pursuing his other lifelong love- for the harmonica, spending time with his father (who plays the guitar) and Ryder, a harmonica/harp player that teaches him everything he knows. He begins more intimate conversations with his father, discovering his late mother's inner life through her diaries. He suffers ups and downs in his sometimes confused love for girlfriend Allie and impulsively rushes into a series of dangerous decisions, including a pregnancy and culminating in his enlistment in the Army.
Like in his other works, Dubus series with compassion and empathy. The characters are what make the novel. The overall tone of the novel is kept low, however. Nothing greatly emotionally charged like "The House of Sand and Fog". The problem is, many things great importance happen to Leo during the summer, but somehow do not really transform him, and the reader is left hanging. He makes his decisions, but they are all forced upon him and he makes them with little thought. One anticipates that the learning and growing will come later, but we area left without the details of this.
A sweet coming of age story, well written and especially commendable for its addressing of communism and discrimination (Ryder is black, homosexuality was hinted at), the exploration of the music world and the blues, and the examination of what young men likely felt during the years of the Vietnam War.
A great book, by all means. "Bluesman" follows Leo Suther in his final year before adulthood. It is the summer of 1967, and friends are being drafted for the Vietnam War. Leo lives in a small Massachusetts town in the Connecticut River Valley with Jim, his father. He falls in love with local beauty Allie Donovan, son of Chick Donovan, a man who hires him for construction/roofing for the summer and he soon finds out to be a devout Marxist Communist. He is also pursuing his other lifelong love- for the harmonica, spending time with his father (who plays the guitar) and Ryder, a harmonica/harp player that teaches him everything he knows. He begins more intimate conversations with his father, discovering his late mother's inner life through her diaries. He suffers ups and downs in his sometimes confused love for girlfriend Allie and impulsively rushes into a series of dangerous decisions, including a pregnancy and culminating in his enlistment in the Army.
Like in his other works, Dubus series with compassion and empathy. The characters are what make the novel. The overall tone of the novel is kept low, however. Nothing greatly emotionally charged like "The House of Sand and Fog". The problem is, many things great importance happen to Leo during the summer, but somehow do not really transform him, and the reader is left hanging. He makes his decisions, but they are all forced upon him and he makes them with little thought. One anticipates that the learning and growing will come later, but we area left without the details of this.
A sweet coming of age story, well written and especially commendable for its addressing of communism and discrimination (Ryder is black, homosexuality was hinted at), the exploration of the music world and the blues, and the examination of what young men likely felt during the years of the Vietnam War.
November 7, 2023
Reread: November 2023
Original Review: May 2020
4.5/5
Fear kept me from picking up Bluesman before now. One was the curse of the sophomore slump, the other was knowing that once this was finished, I would have no new Andre Dubus III to read until his next release.
And like most fear that's been confronted, these reasons feel silly in hindsight.
Bluesman was a delightful surprise. I expected something rough around the edges and little more than a stepping stone on the path to House of Sand and Fog--my favorite novel. What I got was much more. It's still rough in places, but rings true in a way only he can create.
I'm glad to have finally read this. And I look forward to returning to it and his other books until the next one is ready for us.
Original Review: May 2020
4.5/5
Fear kept me from picking up Bluesman before now. One was the curse of the sophomore slump, the other was knowing that once this was finished, I would have no new Andre Dubus III to read until his next release.
And like most fear that's been confronted, these reasons feel silly in hindsight.
Bluesman was a delightful surprise. I expected something rough around the edges and little more than a stepping stone on the path to House of Sand and Fog
I'm glad to have finally read this. And I look forward to returning to it and his other books until the next one is ready for us.
May 22, 2009
It always stuns me that I rarely hear people sing the praises of this book. I usually have to reassure myself that it's just because people haven't heard of this book, but then I'm left wondering why that is, when it is so, so good. The protagonist, Leo, is written with such clarity and precision that you can't help feeling that you are him...or that you're 100% head over heels passionately in love with him. This is no easy task for an author to accomplish.
In many ways, this book encapsulates the spirit of the best coming-of-age stories. It's about Leo's growing into a man at a time where nothing about the world seemed clear or predictable. It's about making mistakes and being unsure of what path one wants to take. Leo's experience in the late sixties is peppered with information relevant to the cultural climate of the time, but it does not hinder the story or seem forced. His time working as a construction work for a fervant communist is a particularly interesting element of the story, but his relationship with his father and blues music contributes to a large portion of the book's beauty.
It would be odd to call the book "musical" necessarily, though music informs its subject matter both directly and indirectly. It would be more apt to suggest that the book has rhythm and harmony, that the mood it provokes is well-suited to the blues music it praises. It's a book suited for a lazy, hot, humid afternoon, for sitting on a porch as the sun goes down, for having a cigarette (because only Leo has ever made it seem almost tempting, for me).
This may not be the most academically lauded book of all time. I'd be hard pressed to call it some kind of instant classic. But it's a book I happened upon one day by accident, and felt all the luckier for doing so. It's a great read, and I've made it my personal duty to convince anyone with eyes to read it, and fall in love with Leo the way I did.
In many ways, this book encapsulates the spirit of the best coming-of-age stories. It's about Leo's growing into a man at a time where nothing about the world seemed clear or predictable. It's about making mistakes and being unsure of what path one wants to take. Leo's experience in the late sixties is peppered with information relevant to the cultural climate of the time, but it does not hinder the story or seem forced. His time working as a construction work for a fervant communist is a particularly interesting element of the story, but his relationship with his father and blues music contributes to a large portion of the book's beauty.
It would be odd to call the book "musical" necessarily, though music informs its subject matter both directly and indirectly. It would be more apt to suggest that the book has rhythm and harmony, that the mood it provokes is well-suited to the blues music it praises. It's a book suited for a lazy, hot, humid afternoon, for sitting on a porch as the sun goes down, for having a cigarette (because only Leo has ever made it seem almost tempting, for me).
This may not be the most academically lauded book of all time. I'd be hard pressed to call it some kind of instant classic. But it's a book I happened upon one day by accident, and felt all the luckier for doing so. It's a great read, and I've made it my personal duty to convince anyone with eyes to read it, and fall in love with Leo the way I did.
February 22, 2018
You don't have to be a fan of the blues to appreciate this lyrical novel, although you probably will be by the time you finish the book. Set in a small Western Massachusetts mill town during the summer of 1967, the story follows its 17-year-old protagonist as he navigates first love, the national argument over Vietnam, his own development as a musician and a man (not necessarily in that order) and a reckoning with his parents' past. This is a slow read -- Dubus' sentences are powerful, immediate and poetic -- but it's one worth savoring.
December 30, 2021
Ratings:
Writing 4
Story line 4
Characters 4
Impact 5
Overall rating 4.25
Writing 4
Story line 4
Characters 4
Impact 5
Overall rating 4.25
January 29, 2016
Leo Sayer the young protagonist in Andre Dubus III's book the Bluesman is a young man coming of age in the time of social upheaval of the Vietnam era. Like many young man of that age his interest is sex, passion and music while trying to discover who he is and who he is going to be. Much to his delight he discovers sex with his girlfriend Allie Donovan. While being tutored by Allie on essential knowledge of the opposite sex, Leo is guided by his three father figures on the meaning of life. Leo's father Jim, introduces him to the world of Blues and acquaints Leo with his diseased mother,through her diaries and poetic writings. Leo's uncle Ryder provides harp lessons and helps Leo to feel the blues. Allies father Chick Donovan gives Leo an opportunity to work for him as a carpenter and teaches him the philosophy of Carl Marx.
Throughout all of his lessons Leo exhibits a sensitivity, but remains dazed and confused as to the direction of his life. During this time Leo is faced with some decisions, which others of this era faced as well as some unexpected choices. Dubus, adeptly holds the readers interest and the reader alternately feels frustrated and sympathetic with Leo.
Dubus is a skilled writer and his lyrical style reinforces the dreaminess of Leo's character. It encapsulates the essence of a youth who is impatient to get on with life along with the insecurity of how to go about it.
Bluesman is recommended reading for those familiar with the Vietnam era and those who would like to know more about it.
Throughout all of his lessons Leo exhibits a sensitivity, but remains dazed and confused as to the direction of his life. During this time Leo is faced with some decisions, which others of this era faced as well as some unexpected choices. Dubus, adeptly holds the readers interest and the reader alternately feels frustrated and sympathetic with Leo.
Dubus is a skilled writer and his lyrical style reinforces the dreaminess of Leo's character. It encapsulates the essence of a youth who is impatient to get on with life along with the insecurity of how to go about it.
Bluesman is recommended reading for those familiar with the Vietnam era and those who would like to know more about it.
January 3, 2017
I've read two of Dubus's books so far, "Bluesman" and "House of Sand and Fog," and have been quite impressed with his writing. He reveals a deep truth about reality, which is that despite our modern devotion to the ideals of freedom and personal agency, we are often caught up in forces outside our control which sweep us to unavoidable fates. These forces can be societal, ongoing wars and so forth, but they are even more directly individual personality traits which control our interactions independent of our wishes. In Dubus's universe, it seems that there is no free will, just characters interacting and progressing according to deterministic laws which control the outcomes. Though this may sound dry and intellectual, it is witnessed by Dubus with tenderness and compassion, with attention to the character's inner lives and to their suffering when outcomes don't match desires. In Bluesman, there is a countercurrent, which is that found in artistic expression. Here is where an individual can express themselves freely, with personal agency, and find relief from their suffering. As the main protagonist, Leo Suther, is described sinking into playing blues numbers on his harmonicas, we the readers feel a palpable relief from the almost unbearable suffering that Leo is undergoing in the other moments of his life, and we share in the joy of deep artistic expression. Interestingly, such a countercurrent seems to be absent in "House of Sand and Fog."
April 1, 2012
I really enjoyed this novel. Set in late 1960's small town America - Massachusetts to be precise - it is primarily a tale about the relationship between a naive, romantic 17 year old boy and a much more grounded 16 year old girl. The boy is Leo, the Bluesman of the title and the girl is called Ellie.
It's a fairly simple tale of boy meets girl set against the prevailing themes of late 60's America: the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam war and the Summer of Love. But these are all just ripples in the background most of the time and the primary backdrop is the passion for blues music shared by Leo, his father Jim and Jim's best friend. As the teenage relationship goes through ups and downs, there is always the blues for Leo to come back to.
The character of Leo, who is the main narrator is particularly well drawn. He is a lovable, romantic dreamer fixated on his seemingly constant erections and always drawn first to describing a woman's breasts before any other particular feature. In other words a very believable teenage male.
Although simple, I found this novel beguiling and would not hesitate to recommend it.
It's a fairly simple tale of boy meets girl set against the prevailing themes of late 60's America: the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam war and the Summer of Love. But these are all just ripples in the background most of the time and the primary backdrop is the passion for blues music shared by Leo, his father Jim and Jim's best friend. As the teenage relationship goes through ups and downs, there is always the blues for Leo to come back to.
The character of Leo, who is the main narrator is particularly well drawn. He is a lovable, romantic dreamer fixated on his seemingly constant erections and always drawn first to describing a woman's breasts before any other particular feature. In other words a very believable teenage male.
Although simple, I found this novel beguiling and would not hesitate to recommend it.
November 21, 2012
This writer never fails to engage me, to make me care. This book, an early output from him, took me a while to get into. The story of a working class boy coming of age in New England in the 60's was interesting enough but I found the detailed musical descriptions distracting at first. I got used to these (though I never really understood them) and grew to understand how important they were in understanding the culture of the family group the boy was living in. By the end of the story I was tentatively turning pages eager to see what would happen but at the same time fearful of a disastrous ending. I was, too, eking out the last few pages to savour what turned out to be another excellent story. Well worth seeking out.
August 7, 2018
This coming of age story feels like a first novel (it is), with an innocence and clarity of style that itrefreshing even as it is unsophisticated. Good story-telling, good characters a simple enough plot. A bonus for me, it was set in Western Mass. during the late 60s, at the beginning of the escalation of Vietnam war when your coming of age choices were: stay in school, enlist or be drafted. Heavy decisions for 18-year-olds.
May 22, 2008
this was a beautiful read -- one of those unexpected finds that i took home from the library as much for the cover art as the blurb. definitely worth it. it has a voice that people would probably describe as authentic -- i think warm and resonant might be a better description.
September 10, 2010
A stormy coming of age tale told with depth and honesty. A beautifully written book. To describe on paper the real soul and the welled up emotion behind a blues tune is a gift and a true accomplishment. Dubus uses simple words to deliver electric dialog and vivid descriptions. (12/31)
December 7, 2012
I love this novel. The characters have a pulse of their own. The author writes with finesse and soul. I highly recommend it
February 16, 2024
Ahhhhh, this book started out with so much promise - a young blues musician from a seemingly conservative background who meets a young lady and goes to work for her radically left leaning father. You can see the potential tensions - love (infatuation) versus world-views; family culture versus political views - you know, the same sort of stuff that was dealt with so successfully House of Sand and Fog. The story increased the tension with the pregnancy of the young lady. All primed for a gripping, heartfelt, relatable story - just like House of Sand and Fog.
But then - nothing. The book sort of got derailed in talking about the protagonist's dead mother and her relationship with his father - for what purpose? The whole story kind of fizzled out in a morass of unimportant detail and really went nowhere. The main characters were left largely undeveloped - like how does the pregnant girl feel? What were her thoughts and conflicts in deciding to abort the child? What did the father think about his son's issues and why didn't he provide and guidance or advice? Why was he so infuriatingly silent about so much? Who was he, anyway - what was his history and the events that made him so silent and even aloof? All we know is that he was a good singer and guitarist.
All told, this was a very disappointing book from an author who has a LOT more ability than was demonstrated here. This is the second book by Andre Dubus III that I have read - the first being House of Sand and Fog (that I absolutely loved) but reading this book has left me with the disappointing fear that Mr Dubus might be one of those one-hit-wonders like Arundhati Roy. I hope not......
But then - nothing. The book sort of got derailed in talking about the protagonist's dead mother and her relationship with his father - for what purpose? The whole story kind of fizzled out in a morass of unimportant detail and really went nowhere. The main characters were left largely undeveloped - like how does the pregnant girl feel? What were her thoughts and conflicts in deciding to abort the child? What did the father think about his son's issues and why didn't he provide and guidance or advice? Why was he so infuriatingly silent about so much? Who was he, anyway - what was his history and the events that made him so silent and even aloof? All we know is that he was a good singer and guitarist.
All told, this was a very disappointing book from an author who has a LOT more ability than was demonstrated here. This is the second book by Andre Dubus III that I have read - the first being House of Sand and Fog (that I absolutely loved) but reading this book has left me with the disappointing fear that Mr Dubus might be one of those one-hit-wonders like Arundhati Roy. I hope not......
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2025
In den Sommerferien 1967 arbeitet Leo Suther für den Zimmermann Chick Donovan. Er verliebt sind in dessen Tochter Allie. Es ist ein besonderer Sommer: die erste große Liebe, aber auch die Diskussionen mit Chick regen Leo zum Nachdenken an. Wie steht er zum Vietnamkrieg? Was will er mit seinem Leben anfangen? Wie loyal steht er hinter denen, die er liebt?
Dann gibt es noch Leos anderes Leben, den Blues. Sein Vater ist ein leidenschaftlicher Musiker. Die Liebe zur Musik hat ihm über den frühen Tod von Leos Mutter hinweg geholfen. Jetzt gibt er diese Leidenschaft an seinen Sohn weiter.
In einem Alter, in dem die meisten jungen Leute nur ihre Sommerferien genießen, muss Leo sich mit ganz anderen Dingen auseinander setzen. Er findet Aufzeichnungen seiner Mutter sieht durch sie seinen Vater in einem ganz anderen Licht. Ohnehin muss er mehr als einmal erkennen dass die Menschen nicht die sind, für die er sie hält. Da bleiben Enttäuschungen nicht aus.
Der Roman hat mich von Anfang an in seinen Bann gezogen. Andre Dubus schreibt so, dass man die Hitze des Sommers spüren kann. Ähnlich wie das Gewitter, das sich in diesem Sommer langsam aufbaut, entwickelt sich auch die Geschichte, bis es zum großen Knall kommt.
Leos Geschichte ist nicht untypisch für einen Teenager aus dieser Zeit, aber sie ist nie platt erzählt Ich habe mit Leo mitgefühlt bei allem, was ihm in diesem Sommer zugestoßen ist. Manchmal war er ein bisschen blauäugig und hat sich nicht klug verhalten, aber die meiste Zeit war er deutlich reifer als viele Jungen in seinem Alter. Er wurde mir sympathisch und ich würde gerne wissen, wie es mit ihm weitergeht.
Dann gibt es noch Leos anderes Leben, den Blues. Sein Vater ist ein leidenschaftlicher Musiker. Die Liebe zur Musik hat ihm über den frühen Tod von Leos Mutter hinweg geholfen. Jetzt gibt er diese Leidenschaft an seinen Sohn weiter.
In einem Alter, in dem die meisten jungen Leute nur ihre Sommerferien genießen, muss Leo sich mit ganz anderen Dingen auseinander setzen. Er findet Aufzeichnungen seiner Mutter sieht durch sie seinen Vater in einem ganz anderen Licht. Ohnehin muss er mehr als einmal erkennen dass die Menschen nicht die sind, für die er sie hält. Da bleiben Enttäuschungen nicht aus.
Der Roman hat mich von Anfang an in seinen Bann gezogen. Andre Dubus schreibt so, dass man die Hitze des Sommers spüren kann. Ähnlich wie das Gewitter, das sich in diesem Sommer langsam aufbaut, entwickelt sich auch die Geschichte, bis es zum großen Knall kommt.
Leos Geschichte ist nicht untypisch für einen Teenager aus dieser Zeit, aber sie ist nie platt erzählt Ich habe mit Leo mitgefühlt bei allem, was ihm in diesem Sommer zugestoßen ist. Manchmal war er ein bisschen blauäugig und hat sich nicht klug verhalten, aber die meiste Zeit war er deutlich reifer als viele Jungen in seinem Alter. Er wurde mir sympathisch und ich würde gerne wissen, wie es mit ihm weitergeht.
January 31, 2025
A fine coming of age novel from Andre Dubus III. So far I have not found any of his books that I have not enjoyed. This is one of his earlier works about a teenager, Leo Suther who lives with his widowed father Jim in a small Massachusetts mill town in the 1960's during the Vietnam War. Jim works in the local paper mill and is a blues guitar player who with his harmonica playing best friend Ryder jam together on at least a weekly basis. Leo is caught up in the music and gets Ryder to teach him to play the blues harp. Leo has a year of high school left to graduate and has an uncertain future until he meets and falls head over heels in love with Allie Donovan a classmate of his. Allies dad Chick Donovan is a building contractor who is impressed with Leo and hires him to work as a laborer and all around hand while teaching him carpentry. Allie and Leo's romance becomes a torrid affair and all is well until Allie becomes pregnant. Then thing rapidly change for everyone and many decisions have to be made. This is the 60's where the theme for young folks is sex, drugs and rock n' roll. This is a period of time that I'm all to familiar with since I was a high school and college student during this time and I shared in these same interests with the exception of the drugs as my gang's drug of choice was beer, which we consumed in abundance. I shared the same apprehension of these characters with the constant spectre of Vietnam hanging over our heads.
December 2, 2018
The first part wasn't too bad, but then it just started to drag on and on. I learned more about harmonicas than I ever wanted to know. I also learned more about Leo's penis than I ever wanted to know. It featured rather prominently in the storyline and we were told numerous times about his erections and how he took care of them. There was very little character development and the characters had not grown any by the end of the book. The Communist angle felt forced and was unnecessary, IMO. This was during the height of Vietnam and yet it wasn't much more than a backdrop. Oh sure, one of Leo's friends went into the service, but we read more about Leo's wang and his harmonicas than we did about how he felt about the friend being in the Army. Jim was ineffective as Leo's dad and there was a weirdness to the Ryder character that I can't quite put a finger on. Allie was fairly stereotypical and I thought at times she came off as a bimbo, even though she was supposed to be pretty smart.
May 12, 2019
A coming of age during the Vietnam era novel that could have used better editing. The protagonists, Leo Suther and his girlfriend Allie Donovan, have a believable relationship that ends ambiguously, as it needed to. I tend to agree with reviewers who found the attempts at describing music to be a bit tedious after a while, knowledgeable though they were, and the references to Leo's ever-turgid penis (hey, he's 18, we get it already) were, if you'll pardon the pun, overblown. All of that said, I did find myself caring about Leo and Allie, and I found Leo's decision to take a fateful plunge as credible as any I could have concocted, but the implicit analogy between the existential pain that is a palpable presence in the best blues numbers and the adolescent pain of Leo's missing his mother and wanting to complete her dreams was somewhat forced. The character of Chick Donovan, something of a nod to Steinbeck, was underdrawn and could easily have borne more of the narrative structure.
January 13, 2025
I don't think Dubus is capable of writing a bad book, be it novel or memoir. For the longest time, I'd believed I'd read evertything by him and only recently discovered this, his first novel.
It's not necessarily his best, but it holds all the hallmarks of a Dubus novel: A very common person in a common dilemma. Dubus doesn't really write bigger-than-life stories or characters. Everything he does is relatable in some way, his characters very much everyday, and their situations the same.
But it's his observations, his writing, and how he takes the reader through the story that always hold me enraptured to the story.
This is no exception. When I find myself getting angry at a fictional character, or frustrated with a fictional plot point, then that author has grabbed me.
Dubus has done both with every single novel, including this one. If you enjoy Andre Dubus III, you'll enjoy this first outing.
It's not necessarily his best, but it holds all the hallmarks of a Dubus novel: A very common person in a common dilemma. Dubus doesn't really write bigger-than-life stories or characters. Everything he does is relatable in some way, his characters very much everyday, and their situations the same.
But it's his observations, his writing, and how he takes the reader through the story that always hold me enraptured to the story.
This is no exception. When I find myself getting angry at a fictional character, or frustrated with a fictional plot point, then that author has grabbed me.
Dubus has done both with every single novel, including this one. If you enjoy Andre Dubus III, you'll enjoy this first outing.
July 25, 2023
I liked this quite a bit - a beautiful and mostly sensitively written coming of age story set in small town Massachusetts in the 1960s. Although it has a shifting POV, I found the most compelling - and also the most irritating voice to be the young Leo Suther, a harmonica playing junior in high school, working for the summer building houses and lover of the idiosyncratic Allie Donovan, daughter of the town communist. It was less the constant reference to his penis and more to the regular assessment of women's breast size that I found distracting. I suppose that's how some 16 year old boys think. But it continually popped me out of the story which otherwise I found to be quite engaging, if not particularly surprising.
I'd add another half star if I could.
I'd add another half star if I could.
March 16, 2017
I've been sitting around for the past couple of days, wondering why I didn't like this book more than I did. I generally am a fan of character exploration and it's not that Bluesman doesn't have memorable or important characters. They're very believably human, imperfect, sympathetic... They are the heart of this story. I should have enjoyed this. But the bulk of the book felt like it dragged. Maybe it was the monotone of the storytelling. While very vivid, the prose was rambling. It was all just running river, Coca-Cola, Wonder Bread, muted Jim, dramatic Allie, and Leo's constant erections for pages. It's an eventful summer, but you wouldn't really feel it from the way the writing told it. Don't get me wrong, the writing is beautiful and is the reason the characters are so vivid. But it's difficult to feel an emotional connection to characters that read so emotionally removed. They never develop. They are who they are and they stay who they are until the last page. This is particularly glaring when reading Leo. The story is supposed to be his coming of age, but he stays just as naive and immature as he starts off. He sure goes through a lot, but I don't feel that I came away from this story with the satisfaction of seeing Leo come to any realizations or grow as a person. This book was a beautifully painted picture of uninteresting people in rural Vietnam-era Massachusetts, but eventually it gets boring just looking at the same picture for 300 pages, not matter how well drawn it is.
August 22, 2023
I listened to the audiobook version with the author narrating. I really like this author, since The House of Sand and Fog which I read ages ago but made quite an impression.
Then when Such Kindness was published, I recognized the name Andre Dubus III and listened to the audiobook of that, and loved it.
So I have listened to every audiobook of his available from the library.
Bluesman is so very well written and the characters are very relatable and interesting. I found myself when nearing the end, wishing it wouldn’t end! Hoping to stay on the journey with the main character, the Bluesman Leo Souther.
Do yourself a big favor and read, or listen to, this excellent book!
Then when Such Kindness was published, I recognized the name Andre Dubus III and listened to the audiobook of that, and loved it.
So I have listened to every audiobook of his available from the library.
Bluesman is so very well written and the characters are very relatable and interesting. I found myself when nearing the end, wishing it wouldn’t end! Hoping to stay on the journey with the main character, the Bluesman Leo Souther.
Do yourself a big favor and read, or listen to, this excellent book!
November 29, 2024
Owad’s Micro-Review #129
Dubus’ first novel tells the story of Leo, a teen coming of age in smalltown Massachusetts during the Vietnam war. For the first time in his life, Leo is having sex, falling in love, and feeling like an adult thanks to a real job building houses.
Underscoring this awakening is a passion for the blues. Leo plays a mean harmonica and dreams of being in a band. When real life intrudes, it’s possible he’ll lose the music dream and a whole lot more. That’s too bad, but we won’t bail on Leo. Despite a somewhat dolorous tone, his story is infused with an unmistakable generosity of spirit. It’s a poignant, human book.
Dubus’ first novel tells the story of Leo, a teen coming of age in smalltown Massachusetts during the Vietnam war. For the first time in his life, Leo is having sex, falling in love, and feeling like an adult thanks to a real job building houses.
Underscoring this awakening is a passion for the blues. Leo plays a mean harmonica and dreams of being in a band. When real life intrudes, it’s possible he’ll lose the music dream and a whole lot more. That’s too bad, but we won’t bail on Leo. Despite a somewhat dolorous tone, his story is infused with an unmistakable generosity of spirit. It’s a poignant, human book.
September 5, 2023
Wonderfully written story about a teen coming of age and trying to decide whether to go into the military, play the music he loves for a living, or marry and raise a family. His father and friends are musicians, good ones. It's a study of human nature in situations and of a small town and the things we don't understand when we are young. It's so much more. Although there is action, it's a subtle and deftly rendered tale. I don't think every reader "gets it". It's brilliant and nuanced and charmingly detailed. And it's a slice of life too.
May 9, 2024
Originally published in 1993. Set in a fictitious, small Massachusetts mill town in 1967. Seventeen-year-old Leo Suther falls deeply in love with Allie Donovan, the daughter of his construction foreman boss. Leo is also learning to play the blues on harmonica from his father his his father's close friend. His summer will lead to significant changes for him and his loved ones. Beautifully written by Dubus. Keen insight into the relationships between fathers and sons as well as men and woman in love. Moving scenes between Leo and his father Jim.
July 3, 2017
This early novel is not Andre Dubus III at his best. Check my Goodreads list for some more interesting books. Still this early novel set in Massachusetts during the Vietnam War is a serviceable coming of age novel that is written in a straight forward realistic style. At time a bit slow and repetitive in its chronicling of myriad blues sessions. I would suggest you explore Dubus's talents in some other books first
January 17, 2022
Challenge: The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge
Title: Bluesman
Author: Andre Dubus III
Favorite Quote: "Real waiting is doing absolutely nothing until what is expected happens."
This story was written in a very visual way. The scene setting and movement of the characters allowed me to read as if I was watching a movie. This coming of age story takes place in a short time frame, just a tick on the protagonist's lifeline.
An enjoyable read which I recommend.
Title: Bluesman
Author: Andre Dubus III
Favorite Quote: "Real waiting is doing absolutely nothing until what is expected happens."
This story was written in a very visual way. The scene setting and movement of the characters allowed me to read as if I was watching a movie. This coming of age story takes place in a short time frame, just a tick on the protagonist's lifeline.
An enjoyable read which I recommend.
May 9, 2022
An astoundingly mediocre book. The characters are so thin and one dimensional it's almost laughable. Every moment of the book is imbued with either drama or nostalgia, but there isn't an ounce of feeling. Dubus tries to use musicans' names and brands to account for some sort of shorthanded identity, but in the end it just reads lazy. The story wasn't creative and it dragged on. Every bit of reading was an effort to not have to intake the story anymore.
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