What do you think?
Rate this book
After Woodstock
Jack and Bryan have been best friends since the age of two. In high school Jack talked about getting his doctorate in math and computer technology and creating the first android robot. Bryan dreamed about becoming a big-time lawyer with a penthouse in the city and a house in the Hamptons. They graduated high school in 1969, a momentous summer, which they capped off by attending the Woodstock Concert. The three days of peace, love and music sent Jack off in a radically different direction. While Jack and Bryan go on to live very different lives, they continue their relationship over the next fifty years through letters.
285 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2024
About the author
Howard R. Reiss
18 books84 followersan ordinary life is Howard’s twelfth novel.
Pyramid on the Hudson, Howard’s eleventh novel, takes place when a 170-year-old corpse turns up at the site of the new mall being built in Nyack, NY. The police chief’s lucid dreams take him back to Nyack in 1855. While he can’t stop the murder, he does try to find a way to stop the mall.
Starlight Shines Far, Howard’s tenth novel, is a story about healing . . . healing the Earth, as well as healing a broken heart.
The '60s Diary, Howard Reiss' ninth novel, will send you on a journey through time from Rose's first love to her time at Woodstock...from self-discovery and happiness to tragedy and rebirth.
Accidental Lives, Howard Reiss’ eighth novel, tells the story of two lives dramatically changed by coincidences of time and place.
A Lover’s Secret, Howard’s seventh novel. It was inspired by three very different thoughts . . . the mental illnesses that often went undiagnosed and untreated back in the middle of the twentieth century, especially among children . . . how time moved so slow when we were young and seems to speed up as we age . . . and how the internet (and Facebook) sometimes changes our relationship with the past. Readers’ Favorite calls this a “very engrossing” “unique romance.”
The Texture of Love, Howard’s sixth novel, was inspired by his love of Nabokov. On the 50th anniversary of Lolita, he decided to reverse the story and have a younger woman become obsessed with an older man.
The Old Drive-In, Howard’s fifth novel, is a nostalgic reflection on what could have been. If we can’t really go home again, can we discover something everlasting if we try? Readers' Favorite wishes they could give this book "more than 5 stars." IndieReader says this novel has "richly defined characters and weaves in themes of regret and nostalgia throughout this nuanced romance."
P Town, Howard’s fourth novel, was inspired by a lifetime of visits to Provincetown, a magical town at the tip of Cape Cod. The mix of people, the art, the street music, and the color make it a great place to hide in plain sight. P Town is a multiple award winner; winning the Silver Medal in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Awards in the Contemporary Romance category, as well as the 2016 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Spiritual category. IndieReader says P Town is “beautifully written from beginning to end” and Readers’ Favorite calls it an “unforgettable read.”
The Laws of Attraction, Howard’s third novel is an insightful and quirky legal thriller about a courtroom battle over the estate of the elderly patriarch who leaves everything to his young wife who claims to be the reincarnate of his first wife. It leads to a rather unusual and somewhat comical trial to determine whether or not there is life after death. This novel is a Readers’ Favorite 5 star “guilty reading pleasure.”
Howard’s second novel, The Year of Soup was inspired by a dinner at a small restaurant in Northampton, Mass. when an old professorial looking gentlemen with a bottle of wine in a paper bag sat down at a table in the corner and was immediately joined by the young, female proprietor and chef. Although he couldn’t hear their conversation, he tried to imagine it, and their stories as well. This novel received the Silver Medal for Best Fiction in the North-East Region at the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2013.
Howard’s first novel, A Family Institution, published in 2011, was based on a true incident involving the discovery of an aunt hidden from the family who spent most of her life in Pilgrim State Hospital. The main character’s quest for the truth about what happened takes him to Pilgrim State where he takes a job in the records department, learns a lot about how the mentally ill and, in particular, his aunt was treated in the 1950s, and in the process turns his life and family upside down. It’s a serious subject approached with a strong comic touch and has been a growing favorite of book clubs around t
Pyramid on the Hudson, Howard’s eleventh novel, takes place when a 170-year-old corpse turns up at the site of the new mall being built in Nyack, NY. The police chief’s lucid dreams take him back to Nyack in 1855. While he can’t stop the murder, he does try to find a way to stop the mall.
Starlight Shines Far, Howard’s tenth novel, is a story about healing . . . healing the Earth, as well as healing a broken heart.
The '60s Diary, Howard Reiss' ninth novel, will send you on a journey through time from Rose's first love to her time at Woodstock...from self-discovery and happiness to tragedy and rebirth.
Accidental Lives, Howard Reiss’ eighth novel, tells the story of two lives dramatically changed by coincidences of time and place.
A Lover’s Secret, Howard’s seventh novel. It was inspired by three very different thoughts . . . the mental illnesses that often went undiagnosed and untreated back in the middle of the twentieth century, especially among children . . . how time moved so slow when we were young and seems to speed up as we age . . . and how the internet (and Facebook) sometimes changes our relationship with the past. Readers’ Favorite calls this a “very engrossing” “unique romance.”
The Texture of Love, Howard’s sixth novel, was inspired by his love of Nabokov. On the 50th anniversary of Lolita, he decided to reverse the story and have a younger woman become obsessed with an older man.
The Old Drive-In, Howard’s fifth novel, is a nostalgic reflection on what could have been. If we can’t really go home again, can we discover something everlasting if we try? Readers' Favorite wishes they could give this book "more than 5 stars." IndieReader says this novel has "richly defined characters and weaves in themes of regret and nostalgia throughout this nuanced romance."
P Town, Howard’s fourth novel, was inspired by a lifetime of visits to Provincetown, a magical town at the tip of Cape Cod. The mix of people, the art, the street music, and the color make it a great place to hide in plain sight. P Town is a multiple award winner; winning the Silver Medal in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Awards in the Contemporary Romance category, as well as the 2016 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Spiritual category. IndieReader says P Town is “beautifully written from beginning to end” and Readers’ Favorite calls it an “unforgettable read.”
The Laws of Attraction, Howard’s third novel is an insightful and quirky legal thriller about a courtroom battle over the estate of the elderly patriarch who leaves everything to his young wife who claims to be the reincarnate of his first wife. It leads to a rather unusual and somewhat comical trial to determine whether or not there is life after death. This novel is a Readers’ Favorite 5 star “guilty reading pleasure.”
Howard’s second novel, The Year of Soup was inspired by a dinner at a small restaurant in Northampton, Mass. when an old professorial looking gentlemen with a bottle of wine in a paper bag sat down at a table in the corner and was immediately joined by the young, female proprietor and chef. Although he couldn’t hear their conversation, he tried to imagine it, and their stories as well. This novel received the Silver Medal for Best Fiction in the North-East Region at the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2013.
Howard’s first novel, A Family Institution, published in 2011, was based on a true incident involving the discovery of an aunt hidden from the family who spent most of her life in Pilgrim State Hospital. The main character’s quest for the truth about what happened takes him to Pilgrim State where he takes a job in the records department, learns a lot about how the mentally ill and, in particular, his aunt was treated in the 1950s, and in the process turns his life and family upside down. It’s a serious subject approached with a strong comic touch and has been a growing favorite of book clubs around t
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 12, 2025
Howard Reiss’s reflective novel, “After Woodstock,” reminded me of an old Pepsi commercial depicting a 25th Woodstock reunion wherein a bald, middle-aged man in a business suit accosts a chubby woman with a bob haircut by calling out, “Sunflower, is that you?” to which she cries, “Pig Pen!” and hugs him. For most folks, the Summer of Love was probably a similarly quixotic interlude in their lives, before reality hit. Not so, though, for the character Jackson “Jacko” Allen, for whom Woodstock proved a truly life-changing event.
Jacko’s story is told by his best friend, Ryan, whose post-Woodstock path through life led him to Columbia Law School, a successful and remunerative career, and a comfortable retirement. By contrast, Jacko ditched college and fled to live off-the-grid in the Catskills with Astra, a girl he met at the festival. Now, Ryan is in his 80s, reminiscing about the divergent life courses that each of them chose, especially as they are depicted in the letters the two of them exchanged over many years.
Jacko and Ryan grew up inseparable, blood-brothers pledged to honor each other’s secrets for a lifetime. They conceived of their weekend at Woodstock as a last hurrah before separating to go to different colleges. Instead, Jacko absconded to be with Astra and, as the hippies were wont to say, “turned on, tuned in, and dropped out.” As he explains in a letter,
"Enjoy each day’s journey, my friend, because every day is its own simple pleasure. Be thankful for whatever it brings and whatever you have. Don’t obsess about the things you don’t have and want. I think you’ll find that you don’t really need them… I’m guessing you find that hard to believe."{
That, in so many words, describes the basic dynamic in this novel. In stark contrast to Jacko’s countercultural austerity, Ryan becomes “a card-carrying member of the establishment,” and “my feet were firmly planted on the road to success.” Their differences do not destroy their friendship, though. For years, Jacko (later dubbing himself "Bodhi") sends letters to Ryan extolling his choices, lifestyle, and values. He challenges, but doesn't condemn his friend’s materialism, which alternately inspires Ryan to defend and reflect upon his own decisions.
“After Woodstock” is replete with reminiscences and ruminations—not so much with plot or action. As a character study of two disparate personalities, it engages readers more intellectually than emotionally, but always honestly.
Jacko’s story is told by his best friend, Ryan, whose post-Woodstock path through life led him to Columbia Law School, a successful and remunerative career, and a comfortable retirement. By contrast, Jacko ditched college and fled to live off-the-grid in the Catskills with Astra, a girl he met at the festival. Now, Ryan is in his 80s, reminiscing about the divergent life courses that each of them chose, especially as they are depicted in the letters the two of them exchanged over many years.
Jacko and Ryan grew up inseparable, blood-brothers pledged to honor each other’s secrets for a lifetime. They conceived of their weekend at Woodstock as a last hurrah before separating to go to different colleges. Instead, Jacko absconded to be with Astra and, as the hippies were wont to say, “turned on, tuned in, and dropped out.” As he explains in a letter,
"Enjoy each day’s journey, my friend, because every day is its own simple pleasure. Be thankful for whatever it brings and whatever you have. Don’t obsess about the things you don’t have and want. I think you’ll find that you don’t really need them… I’m guessing you find that hard to believe."{
That, in so many words, describes the basic dynamic in this novel. In stark contrast to Jacko’s countercultural austerity, Ryan becomes “a card-carrying member of the establishment,” and “my feet were firmly planted on the road to success.” Their differences do not destroy their friendship, though. For years, Jacko (later dubbing himself "Bodhi") sends letters to Ryan extolling his choices, lifestyle, and values. He challenges, but doesn't condemn his friend’s materialism, which alternately inspires Ryan to defend and reflect upon his own decisions.
“After Woodstock” is replete with reminiscences and ruminations—not so much with plot or action. As a character study of two disparate personalities, it engages readers more intellectually than emotionally, but always honestly.
Displaying 1 of 1 review