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Lodestar
From the author of THE NAVIGATORS comes this story of a young man's quest. Summer, 1964: sixteen-year-old first string quarterback Tristan Bentley has the perfect life. Recruiters for college athletic programs are expressing interest in his passing arm as well as his wrestling skills, the varsity cheerleading squad at his high school has designated him a priority target, and his best friend just got a Sting Ray convertible for his seventeenth birthday. But change is on the horizon. Not just change for Tristan's family and their home town, but change for the entire country. As past and present collide, the outcome is uncertain. For some, change will bring tragedy and heartbreak; for others, progress and unimagined opportunity. From small town America to Greenwich Village, the jungles of Southeast Asia, and Castro Street; from the voter registration drives of a Mississippi on the verge of conflagration to the great marches and demonstrations of the peace movement, the carnage and terror of the Viet Nam war, and the dawn of gay liberation, LODESTAR tells the story of Tristan's struggle to claim his manhood, find freedom, and build a life of meaning and authenticity.
461 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 19, 2020
This book was extremely engaging for me. In reading the blurb I felt interested but not expecting what I found. I love the story and the writing and the feeling the author lived this life. As a “Preachers Kid” myself, I clearly understand Tristan’s early life. I truly respect his daddy and wish my preacher daddy was more like Tristan’s.
After getting the basics of his life you are then thrust into the historical events of 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi. I was devastated at the tragic turn of events in Tristan’s life, especially after the bravery he showed at the courthouse. As entranced with the book as I was to this point, I feared the tragedy would continue thru the book. I kept thinking please dear God let some good things happen to this boy. I also thought how "southern politeness" is a thin veneer of molasses on rotten human scum. As little as 10 years ago, in speaking with a friend from Mississippi, the prejudice for the most part is still very strong in the south. I breathed a huge sigh of relief after this section.
The next section is another hell hole, Vietnam. Both of my older brothers served in Vietnam. I was forced to watch the 6:00 evening news every night at dinner. I never said anything as my parents were frantic for news about the war and not getting regular letters from my brothers.
The book is written in sections where you learn about chunks of Tristan's life, sometimes narrated by him and sometimes by other characters. Some of it seems tedious and other sections are fascinating. Some you think what is the point and mostly you are thinking where does this tidbit fit into the overall story. With each section you realize you have to pay attention to the little bits as they keep coming up and being elaborated on.
There is a section in Tuscon where Tristan witnesses some pretty awful stuff in the military. Then he moves to Chattanooga to be with family for a while. Then he visits NY to reconnect with the people he worked with in 1964 and check on a buddy from Vietnam. The writer has a long solilqui by his buddy's aunt that is talking like life is Italian (melodramatic) Opera and it actually is.
There was one jarring bit that was out of sequence that was set in the future. Another tidbit that you learn about the many facets of Tristan's life.
The romance finally comes true at the end. I would have liked a little more in the last chapter. I know we learned everything throughout the book, but the end felt kinda rushed. Maybe an epilogue too, although that could have been that odd out of sequence bit earlier. I think I wanted more at the end because Tristan had to have been so damaged by so many of the experiences in his life that I wanted to be sure he would really be OK the rest of his life.
Even though I was upset by many parts of the story, it made me feel, it made me want the best for Tristan. When a book involves me that much, it has to be considered a wonderful book. For me, that is why I read, to be taken somewhere else and be totally involved with the story. Lodestar really did that for me.
After getting the basics of his life you are then thrust into the historical events of 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi. I was devastated at the tragic turn of events in Tristan’s life, especially after the bravery he showed at the courthouse. As entranced with the book as I was to this point, I feared the tragedy would continue thru the book. I kept thinking please dear God let some good things happen to this boy. I also thought how "southern politeness" is a thin veneer of molasses on rotten human scum. As little as 10 years ago, in speaking with a friend from Mississippi, the prejudice for the most part is still very strong in the south. I breathed a huge sigh of relief after this section.
The next section is another hell hole, Vietnam. Both of my older brothers served in Vietnam. I was forced to watch the 6:00 evening news every night at dinner. I never said anything as my parents were frantic for news about the war and not getting regular letters from my brothers.
The book is written in sections where you learn about chunks of Tristan's life, sometimes narrated by him and sometimes by other characters. Some of it seems tedious and other sections are fascinating. Some you think what is the point and mostly you are thinking where does this tidbit fit into the overall story. With each section you realize you have to pay attention to the little bits as they keep coming up and being elaborated on.
There is a section in Tuscon where Tristan witnesses some pretty awful stuff in the military. Then he moves to Chattanooga to be with family for a while. Then he visits NY to reconnect with the people he worked with in 1964 and check on a buddy from Vietnam. The writer has a long solilqui by his buddy's aunt that is talking like life is Italian (melodramatic) Opera and it actually is.
There was one jarring bit that was out of sequence that was set in the future. Another tidbit that you learn about the many facets of Tristan's life.
The romance finally comes true at the end. I would have liked a little more in the last chapter. I know we learned everything throughout the book, but the end felt kinda rushed. Maybe an epilogue too, although that could have been that odd out of sequence bit earlier. I think I wanted more at the end because Tristan had to have been so damaged by so many of the experiences in his life that I wanted to be sure he would really be OK the rest of his life.
Even though I was upset by many parts of the story, it made me feel, it made me want the best for Tristan. When a book involves me that much, it has to be considered a wonderful book. For me, that is why I read, to be taken somewhere else and be totally involved with the story. Lodestar really did that for me.
March 3, 2017
The saga expands. Lodestar isn't in any sense a prequel to The Navigators, more a companion to it. A different history with similar themes - and, for me, a similar result: the sense of history lived, but from the perspective of a young gay man. I should think an instructive thing for today's young gay men to explore. I'm beginning to understand what an ambitious project these books are. When a 450 page book is just a bit of it, you get an idea of the scale. Tolstoy springs to mind, but perhaps it's the proliferation of characters who are all connected in unexpected ways. And I must admit the idea of that appeals to me. In addition, a literary treatment of ideas like integrity and destiny - with a gay context - warms the cockles of my heart as well. I think, perhaps, it's the creation of a mythology, this project. I devoured Edith Hamilton's books on Greek Mythology, too.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews