Old Man

by David A. Poulsen

Nate takes an unexpected and unwanted trip with his estranged father, only to undergo changes in his perceptions of both himself and his dad, whose participation in the Vietnam War changed him forever.

Genres: Young Adult, Canada, Fiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

David A. Poulsen has been a rodeo competitor and rodeo clown, rock singer, high school football coach, stage and film actor, documentary television writer and host, and college English instructor. Since retiring from rodeo competition - he admits to being a not-very-good bareback rider and later an accident-prone rodeo clown, David Poulsen has taken up residence in announcer's stands across North America. The results have been tremendously positive both for David and audiences who have listened to his knowledgeable and enthusiastic commentary for the last twenty-six years.

With 1500 performances to his credit, the likable Alberta native has appeared at many of the major rodeos and bull riding events in Canada, among them the Canadian Finals Rodeo (three times), the Calgary Stampede for the last sixteen years in a row and, the PCB Bull Riding Finals. He has been at the microphone for twenty-eight Finals events in seven different associations. Equally at home in front of a TV camera, he has been seen on CTV Wide World of Sports, TSN Television Sports and each year co-hosts the popular Stampede Roundup program on Calgary's CFCN-TV with Glen Campbell. He also acted as co-host of the documentary series The Complete Rider for The Outdoor Life Network. David's announcing talents have also taken him to the big screen. He twice played the role of a rodeo announcer in the successful family series The Black Stallion and was behind the microphone for the rodeo scenes in the movie Convict Cowboy that starred Jon Voigt

David is also a successful writer with some 17 published books to his credit. His writing career began in earnest in 1984 when his short story The Welcomin’ won the Alberta Culture Short Story Writing Competition. His newest book Last Sam's Cage (published by Key Porter Books, Toronto, ON) arrived in bookstores in October, 2005 and has been enjoying a tremendous reception with readers across Canada and beyond. Because a number of his books target young readers, David spends between 60 and 80 days a year in classrooms across Canada, talking to kids about his books and his life as a writer and sharing his stories with students.

David and his wife Barb raise running quarter horses on a small but picturesque ranch (El Rancho Pequino) in the Alberta foothills west of Claresholm.

Reviews

[Susan Toy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thought that came to mind when I heard the title of David A. Poulsen's new book, "Old Man," was the Neil Young song of the same name. So it was no surprise when I saw that Poulsen had cited the first couple of lines from Young's song in his epigraphs. Very fitting for this terrific book about a teenager, Nate, coming to terms with a father he's never known, who suddenly comes back into his life, ruining well-laid plans for the summer by taking him on a magical mystery tour that proves to be a trip of a lifetime for both son and father.

Nate is funny and smart, although a bit too smart-alecy at times - but not unlike any other teenage boy. The story is intriguing and, while I don't want to give away the plot here, I will say that Nate and his father's travels had me clicking on Google to look at maps and read about places they visit.

I have previously read David Poulsen's adult fiction. While "Old Man" is intended for a YA audience, this book works just as well as an adult read. (By the way, that adult novel was "Don't Fence Me In" - a terrific story about a rodeo clown in Alberta. I hope there are plans to reprint or reissue eventually as an eBook. Great novel! Poulsen has a terrific sense of humour.)

So I highly recommend "Old Man" for any audience. And I am not alone in my recommendation, because I just heard that "Old Man" has been nominated for the 2014 Popular Paperback Young Adults (PPYA), by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association. http://www.dundurn.com/news/award_new...

Congratulations, David! This book deserves to win many awards!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Man, tells the story of 15 year old Nathan Huffman (Nate), who out of the blue hears from his (Old man) father, Larry. Larry is the kind of father who would phone and send cards on birthdays and holidays. Larry left Nathan and his mother when Nathan was just 5 for a 19 year lady. It was obvious that Larry liked younger women, because Nathan’s mom was 27 and Larry was 47 when Nathan was born.

Out of the blue one day Larry ends up calling to see if Nate can spend 3 weeks of his Summer vacation, because he wants to get to know him better. Though Nate is against it, his mother tells him to take this time to get to know him, because despite Larry not being around from Nathan, she knows he is a good man.
When Larry first showed up Nate’s first impression of Larry was better than he had expected. Nathan can tell right away that, he is older, but not old looking.

When Larry and Nathan leave for their trip, Nate realizes that Larry isn’t a big talker, so for awhile Nathan finds the car ride awkward. Nate didn’t even know where they were going to, and wished that this stranger for all in purposes would give him a straight answer about things.
You can tell at the beginning of their trip, things between Larry and Nathan are difficult, because they truly don’t know much about each other, so it would be like traveling with a stranger.

When they arrive and about to cross the border into the US, Nate, was overwhelmed with this whole situation, that Nate considered telling the guards that he was kidnapped, but knew that Larry didn’t deserve that. Even though Nate, didn’t know Larry, he did realize how much he must have put into planning this trip for them.

When Larry finally shares with Nathan that he is taking Nathan to Saigon, Nathan thinks he’s crazy, but goes along with it.

Synopsis

When Larry and Nate arrive in Ho_Chi_Minh ( formally known as Saigon) Vietnam, Nate doesn’t appreciate anything that Larry has set up for their trip. He complains about everything about the food, and thinks it is boring there.

Larry has set up this trip for Nate and all of these sights, but half of the time Larry doesn’t go with Nate to experience them with him. This aggravates Nate, because after all Larry planned this trip, he should be going on the tours with him. When they go into a Vietnam Museum, Nate is appalled to learn about the massacres that happened during the Vietnam war.
The next part of the trip, Larry took Nate into the jungle with a guide, and this was an experience neither one of them would ever forget. While they were in the jungle though, Nate notices that Larry is acting differently. As Nate watches his Old man, look around at the view around, it was as if he was remembering something, but Nate didn’t know what? All of a sudden Larry starts to have a panic attack, and this scares Nate, because he doesn’t know what to do. Larry wouldn’t respond to Nate at all.
When Larry is able to calm down, he explains to Nate, that is fought in the Vietnam war, and in the spot they were standing right then was called Hill 453. There was a massacre of a lot of innocent people there.

After seeing this other side of Larry, Nate decides to open up more to Larry and they both start to let each other into their lives.

When Nate and Larry go in to Ho Chi Minh City, Nate notices the buildings there are very narrow. They are called Tube house. Nate is told by their guide that this is the kind of house where the average person lives.

During their touring Nate meets a girl from Australia named Jen, who he likes. Nate really likes Jen and they start to spend time together. Larry thinks it’s great and offers “fatherly safe advice” in front of Jen when they meet up to go out for a date, which mortifies Nate. On their date Nate notices that Jen is acting distant from him and wonders why. They had spent time together alone before and maybe she regretted it, Nate thought. When Jen explains to Nate that she has a boyfriend back home and they had a fight just before she came there. Nate is angry and this pretty much ends that quick romance.
Next Larry and Nate travel to Dalat.
They end up going to see a place called the Crazy House. This was a house that everything from the outside to inside was crooked. Nate though it was really cool.
Larry tells Nate that Dalat, was a favorite getaway for officers and higher ups for both sides of the war so they could go and get some rest. It was a place that there was an agreement between both sides that Dalat was a place where it wouldn’t be attacked. This was honored by both sides until the Tet, in 1968 when Viet Cong attacked it, along with the towns and cities, in South Vietnam.
The next trip Larry planned for them was to go and play cowboys. While they are out horseback riding and looking at a beautiful view, out of nowhere Larry asks Nate if he knew that Larry owned a ranch in Arizona. This struck a cord with Nate, because Larry should know that Nate doesn’t know anything about him beside’s what he’s told him.
Larry tells Nate out of the blue that he is giving Nate his ranch. That there is a man by the name of Gilbert Ruiz that will look after it and run it, all he has to do is check in every once and awhile.
Larry, throws a bomb shell onto Nate’s world next. Larry shares with Nate that he has Pancreatic Cancer and he has 6 months to a year to live. He tells Nate he is so sorry for not being around while he was growing up. Nate feels overwhelmed with this news and all he can manage to say to Larry is, that he’s sorry that he’s dying. After Nate has some time to think, he offers for Larry to come and live with him and his mom. Larry thanks him for it but tells Nate he can’t do that to them after everything he had left them so long ago.
The next day when they return to Saigon, Nate searches up pancreatic cancer online and realizes just how bad it is.
Nate needed some time alone, so he decides to go for a walk and finds The North American English Language School. He remembered how Jen wanted to teach it one day, and the more time he spent there, it made him think he’d might like to do that as well.
When Nate goes back to meet up with his dad, Larry tells him that he wants to take him somewhere.
Larry starts to tell him more about his experience in the war. He tells Nate about an incident that happened, when a chopper was bringing them supplies on the ground. When they were finished unloading and about to take off again, the door gunner is shot. Some of the marines cheered. They had changed being in the war.
Next Larry takes Nate to see a lady by the name of Ba Li. Larry has a translator with him named Mrs.Soon. Larry hears Ba Li tell the story of her experiences that day, and Nate was curious why Larry wanted to know if there was a curfew on the day in question. Ba Li explains to them there was a curfew that day but her brother and herself were out looking for food because they were hungry that day. Their father had just died two days prior and their mother was missing. They had to look for food themselves. Soldiers came and shot her brother.
Nate notices that Larry is crying and he admits to Ba Li that he was the one who shot her brother. He thought he had a gun, so his instincts kicked in and it was kill or be killed. He apologies for taking her brother’s life. Ba Li doesn’t accept his apologies, in fact she tells Larry she’d like to kill Nate for taking her brother’s life.
During this trip Nate, really starts to look at Larry as his father differently. You can see they both have a mutual respect for each other. Nate asks Larry if he thought it would be a dumb idea if he was to come back some day and teach ESL. Larry is surprised that Nate would want to come back after all of the complaining he had done at the beginning. Larry tells Nate about the 5 O’clock Folies. Every morning all of the war correspondents would go and get the latest briefing on the progress of the war. Larry tells Nate that is was 50% b.s. and 50% nothing at all.
Larry told Nate when he was here last he thought he hated the country, but returning there made him realize that he hates the war, and what the war did to him. He doesn’t hate the country.
When Nate and Larry returned back home he got a job in a floral shop. Larry and Nate actually have a conversation’s on the phone now when they spoke to each other. For some reason though, after awhile Larry stopped checking in with him. Nate wondered if he should phone him.
Soon after the calls stop, Nate receives a package in the mail from Larry’s best friend. When his opens it up, he finds out that his dad had passed away in his sleep on Nov.27th . Tal tells Nate that Larry told him Nate that Larry was very proud of him.
Tal sent his dad’s urn in the package. When Nate tells his mom that he passed away she was quiet for a couple of days.
Nate decides to take the urn and go to a place that rents horses and has a beautiful hillside with trees to spread his dads ashes.
Nate talks to his dad while he’s there. He tells him that he is no longer angry at him for leaving them. He tells his dad that he is really glad that he had the chance to have met him and to of had the trip with him. He wants his dad to know that he taught him a lot and he will never forget him. This is the first time in the book that Nate calls Larry dad, and not OLD MAN!

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read for any teenage boy

[Anastasia202 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Man by David Poulsen, a novel characterized by its heavy and difficult-to-comprehend moral, yet typical modern setting and rather common, usual plot. This was my selected fiction novel from the White Pines list (for school), and I personally regard this is the best fiction prose from this list.
1. Nate; 16-year old male typical teenage narrator, protagonist and antagonist to himself; receives unexpected phone call from estranged father, Larry, who left family when Nate was only four.
2. Together fly to Vietnam for summer, where Larry fought in the Vietnam War from the 60-70’s.
3. Main Destinations: Chu Chi underground battle tunnels and A Shau Valley; have to go through cruel jungle and face conflicts with nature. Father develops PTSD, Nate realizes value of life and develops identity.
4. Go on suspenseful relaxing horse-back jaunt; Larry tells Nate he will soon die of cancer; apologizes for all pain he caused Nate and mother.
5. Nate returns to Canada, Larry to U.S. home; communicate frequently by phone.
6. Nate informed that Larry died. Forgives him, and loves him irrefutably.
The heavy and depressing genre of tragedy, and theme of war, highlighted throughout this novel, focused on how individuals who participated in the war were influenced by it, specifically, Nate’s father, Larry. To Nate, he continuously tried to convey how the war influenced him to become a stronger person both mentally and physically but also how it made him slightly psychologically affected because he wants Nate to know what it’s like to sacrifice your health safety for your nation, and how to taste fear and blood and to be scared of death, yet simultaneously smart about it.
However, the morals of war is not the only theme explored in this book; personal life is a great symbolism used to represent something simple and straightforward in the midst of chaos. But in this case, personal life is not so simple. Larry left Nate’s mother when he was only four, and he never visited and did not support them afterwards. Only 12 years later did he call, declaring that he and Nate will be going to Vietnam, in turn providing the inciting force in the plot. At first, Nate expresses immense hatred to him, but during the falling action and resolution, he forgives him and realizes how much he loved him.
Throughout the novel, I was able to grasp and gradually track the progression of Nate’s identity, and his development of moral mindsets. It is utterly explicit that by experiencing the setting of war, even though the most affective experience was through a dog attack, he matured dramatically because of where his father brought him. To the trenches of his painful past. Nate was not only empowered to face his dog-phobia with a new philosophy, but also to realize the changes occurring within thanks to his father and to ask for forgiveness even when it may be useless.

[David R · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading David A Poulsen's latest teen/adult crossover novel, Old Man, the reader first sees the author's note that states, "This book is not for everyone." It is part of Poulsen's warning about the book's realism in dealing with a world 'out there' from a time 'back then'. Old Man is, in fact, a gritty drama about fifteen year-old Nate Huffman preparing for life, the past ten years without his father. We learn in the novel's first lines that Nate "...never call him Dad again."

Poulsen pulls the reader into the life flow seen through Nate's eyes. I was pulled back to that time, being a teen and dammit we did find humour in life which helped with the angst and pain.Poulsen's humour , subtle at times, always sitting on the ledge waiting to leap into Nate's life brings realism to situations, to plans and hopes that are usually more hope than plan. I was drawn into the father son reunion, the cautious steps as they struggle first with who the other is and later with the saddle burr, 'why'. Nate's world is given a reality check in a trip with his father, to see, maybe understand. The horror and fear are real, as through Nate we learn from Nate's father and others in this journey to a place in time where humanity experienced a great loss; 'humanity' itself. There are powerful moments of revelation, of terror without gratuitous violence but with the soul branding fear that was seared into many lives is vividly exposed.

How does the 'trip' change Nate's life? Is there a moment when all is forgiven, past indiscretions appeased? Chapter One's, I will never called him "Dad" bears repeating as it was always in the back of this readers mind. Subtly, as a good book enables, and this is certainly that-the reader is swept up into
the main characters life seen through a teens eyes.


I take polite issue with Poulsen's note that his book is not for everyone; maybe, but it does have something for everyone...Old Man is a very good read.

David R. Nichol
Saskatoon Writer

[Roselyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy a book about history and Poulsen was so descriptive that you could've literally pictured a scene in your backyard. There was a quote the 'old man' said it was something like "I dont hate this country. I dont hate the people. I hated the war." And that gave me huge perspective on how maybe any soldier would've felt in a country they fought in. This book also gave a little but of self discovery for me because i related myself to Nate and his 5 point plan for the summer, seems like something I would do. But it turned out that went all to waste and that plan was to make him a better and improve himself, but the unexpected plansdid so much more for him then he knows. I loved the part when he finally called his 'old man' dad, ive been waiting for that part and it was the last word.
Also that when people fight in a war, they are taught to believe in things that you wouldnt believe.
they are taught to believe that this is your enemy and you have to kill them because they are bad!
but Nate's dsd realized AFTER the killings, no one deserved to get killed and the part where he apologized Ba Li about killing her brother because he threw what he thought to be a grenade but really was a onion. He killed her brother because of an onion. and when he realized, he was so struck by the inhumane thing.
I enjoyed when Nate spoke to that little Vietnamese girl, An Lien, and taught her a few words in English and he even petted her dog when he was extremely scared of them.
but i wrote this for myself so i could remember.

[Connie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate what this book attempted to do. I think it really did try to bring in certain serious topics, that it really did mean well. However for a couple of reasons it didn't quite work out, and they kind of put me off the novel.

I feel that it's always considered an improvement to a character when they move past their fixation for someone. I just cannot stand books that take this approach.

The serious topics that were brought out in this book, weren't treated 'right' in my opinion. PTSD is serious. It was never treated lightly, nor was the Vietnamese War, yet I feel as if it wasn't 'real' enough. War is hell, and people going through hell every time they close their eyes is horrible. I just don't feel that this horror was conveyed through the book.

Why cancer? I hate the cancer card. There are a billion good diseases out there, and you had to choose the over done cancer? I hate cancer in books, and I feel like it really frustrated me more when this card was played.

The endless references, were also something that I could not stand.

The book was also very predictable.

I didn't hate this book, I feel like it tried. But it just hit so many things that irk me.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a realistic depiction of how scarred soldiers of wars are. I've always heard that soldiers often struggle with PTSD (stress disorder), etc. but I never knew how they would truly feel. Poulsen did a great job on describing just how emotionally and mentally unstable a victim of war becomes.

His son was a regular teenager that was into girls, had a home, got an education. Throughout the book, there were snippets of Nate doing regular-21st-century teenagers would do. (Maybe I'm just over thinking this) but I liked how I was able to compare the difference of how his father lived and how the son lives. Without realizing it, Nate is able to do normal things because his father was the one to fight for the country. At first, I thought of the scenes as boring and just filler chapters, but now (with some pondering) I am able to see what Poulsen is trying to say.

[Sylvia McNicoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

A father attempts to forge a last minute bond with his son by taking him for a revisit of his war memories on a surprise trip to Viet Nam. Teenaged Nate is not quick to forgive an older dad who abandoned him (when he was five) and his mom for a younger dental hygienist. But the reader and main character grow to have a greater understanding of what he and other veterans experienced in an unpopular war. While there are scenes depicting war cruelty, because they're filtered through a memory, they are not as graphic or as disturbing as they might be. A powerful emotional story about a fresh topic.

[Pamela McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

David captures Nate's conflicted emotions and insecurities perfectly. Nate's easy to like. He's an average teenage boy plunked down in a foreign land with a stranger and the reader quickly begins to care about what happens to him. The descriptions of Vietnam - the sights, smells and cacophony of sound - create a vibrant sense of place. I would definitely recommend this novel for mature teens, 13 years and older.

[Josianne Haag · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but it left me with a weird feeling. The characters' reactions to things were anything but normal, making it hard to understand their motivations for things. I could never really get into the story. There were times when I had no idea how the main character stayed so calm and introspective. If I were in some of those situations, I would probably run away screaming.
The plot was okay and it was enjoyable enough, though I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

[Diana Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it is a 2014 white pine award nominee. I didn't care for the attitude of the teen-age protagonist, but suspect it may be dead-on for teenage age boys. I did like the ending, though I did not appreciate the lack of transparency between the two. Was the marriage break-down and the lack of interest in his son a product of PTSD. It is not clear. Overall, I did like the book.

[Jamila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great, a lot of fuzzy feelings in the heart place. I loved how witty Nate was, his sarcasm was probably my favourite part of the book. Overall this is just a really great read.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! It was absolutely wonderful!!

[Emily Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may or may not have cried at the end so 3.5/5 stars.
my review on my blog -> http://emilyspeaking.blogspot.ca/2013...

[Laura Sundal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was alright but the main character as a pain in the ass.

[Amy Mathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/old-man/