What do you think?
Rate this book
1979
In these thirteen stories, Steve Anderson captures what it meant to come of age in the late 1970s in working-class America. From a family’s West Virginia oil wells to trekking through abandoned small-town factories, to a Nevada campground vacation, adolescents find love, strengthen friendships, and create adventures. Each story is tinged with the stark challenges and raw beauty of growing up in a rural, post-Vietnam world of shuttered mills and sprawling train tracks.
Freedom comes from trying to purchase beer underage, stealing a friend’s dad’s rusted “work” car for a joyride, and creating the world’s fastest sled for racing down a sheer quarry slope. There are stories of first love as well, captured against desert backdrops and in motel arcades. Most of all, this collection is about finding one’s way to adulthood in a richly revealed time and place in America’s Midwest.
Freedom comes from trying to purchase beer underage, stealing a friend’s dad’s rusted “work” car for a joyride, and creating the world’s fastest sled for racing down a sheer quarry slope. There are stories of first love as well, captured against desert backdrops and in motel arcades. Most of all, this collection is about finding one’s way to adulthood in a richly revealed time and place in America’s Midwest.
195 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2015
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Steve Anderson
1 book3 followersSteve Anderson was raised in the Appalachian foothills of southern Ohio. After earning his degree in Computer Science from the Ohio State University, he later moved to Columbus, Ohio where he now resides.
A musician and indie film maker in his part time, he has written, directed and produced several short feature films that have shown in Columbus movie theaters.
He returns frequently to the hills and valleys surrounding his hometown in southern Ohio where he spends hours biking or sitting and listening to old man gossip in his father’s barber shop.
A musician and indie film maker in his part time, he has written, directed and produced several short feature films that have shown in Columbus movie theaters.
He returns frequently to the hills and valleys surrounding his hometown in southern Ohio where he spends hours biking or sitting and listening to old man gossip in his father’s barber shop.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 3, 2016
I think this collection resonated with me particularly because it is set in sleepy, small towns. Its images of train tracks and tall grass blowing in the breeze made me recall growing up, tumbling through weeds and creeks in rural Arkansas.
One story in particular felt particularly close to me, Melvin. It's MC, Shelby, reminds me of the rough and tumble little girls I used to pal around with. Her young mind deals with a lot of heavy material, and that too felt familiar to me. Growing up in the South, you experience a strange mixture of freedom and hardship, beauty and ugliness, kindness and cruelty. Anderson really captures these elements, though his settings are mostly in the Midwest.
It is clear to me that Anderson has thought long and hard about what it really means to "come of age". His writing is thoughtful and poignant, and his descriptions will leave you feeling like you were really there. Cinematic -- his writing is cinematic. In an Iñárritu (visual) way though, not in a Whedon (action) way.
I really enjoyed this collection. I wish I could have been reading on a beach because this collection does have the distinct feeling of summer attached to it, and more than that, summer evenings -- perhaps purposefully. Summer is the season I associate with growing up, perhaps because summer is the season where so much is discovered, and most of that growing is done in the late afternoon into the evening, beside bonfires and in wilderness. When skin prickles from the coolness of evening yet still gives off the heat of the day. Definitely give this a read -- it contains universal messages I believe anyone could enjoy.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One story in particular felt particularly close to me, Melvin. It's MC, Shelby, reminds me of the rough and tumble little girls I used to pal around with. Her young mind deals with a lot of heavy material, and that too felt familiar to me. Growing up in the South, you experience a strange mixture of freedom and hardship, beauty and ugliness, kindness and cruelty. Anderson really captures these elements, though his settings are mostly in the Midwest.
It is clear to me that Anderson has thought long and hard about what it really means to "come of age". His writing is thoughtful and poignant, and his descriptions will leave you feeling like you were really there. Cinematic -- his writing is cinematic. In an Iñárritu (visual) way though, not in a Whedon (action) way.
I really enjoyed this collection. I wish I could have been reading on a beach because this collection does have the distinct feeling of summer attached to it, and more than that, summer evenings -- perhaps purposefully. Summer is the season I associate with growing up, perhaps because summer is the season where so much is discovered, and most of that growing is done in the late afternoon into the evening, beside bonfires and in wilderness. When skin prickles from the coolness of evening yet still gives off the heat of the day. Definitely give this a read -- it contains universal messages I believe anyone could enjoy.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 14, 2015
1979: short story collection is an anthology of thirteen coming of age stories set in America.
The protagonist's in each story are experiencing the confusion, angst and exhilaration of adolescence. Each story is a novel in miniature, full of characters that could easily be expanded and developed and written in such a vivid way that I'm sure readers will find themselves being transported back into their own childhoods when they had, or witnessed similar encounters.
The writing is picturesque and despite never having been to America, I felt as if I was there alongside them. Stone Quarry is a particularly good example of this. Seth, Pauly, Dewey and Toad have a sheet of corrugated tin roofing and decide to take it to the top of Chester Hill and use it as a sled. The journey down is a scree field of broken shale so it's not going to be a smooth ride but the boys bravado is greater than their common sense. The description of their perilous downhill journey is full of adrenaline and gives them a great story to tell afterwards.
Steve Anderson has a great ability to get into his young character's heads and capture both their language and observations in exactly the right way. I loved the story of Shelly, drifting around a pool on her lilo, minding her own business and trying to keep her ear dry to prevent another ear infection, when she hears a commotion behind her. Turning round to see what's going on a boy asks if he can use her raft as he "ain't got no legs". The boys request is met with mockery and disbelief that someone would fake a medical condition (when she has a "real" one) just to try and get her lilo because they were too lazy to swim around. So imagine how she feels when she comes face to face with the same boy later and finds out that he was telling the truth.
All in all I enjoyed reading these stories and they're great if you only have snippets of time to lose yourself in a story. I hope that there are more stories and maybe even a novel in the pipeline.
With kind thanks to Steve Anderson for the review copy.
The protagonist's in each story are experiencing the confusion, angst and exhilaration of adolescence. Each story is a novel in miniature, full of characters that could easily be expanded and developed and written in such a vivid way that I'm sure readers will find themselves being transported back into their own childhoods when they had, or witnessed similar encounters.
The writing is picturesque and despite never having been to America, I felt as if I was there alongside them. Stone Quarry is a particularly good example of this. Seth, Pauly, Dewey and Toad have a sheet of corrugated tin roofing and decide to take it to the top of Chester Hill and use it as a sled. The journey down is a scree field of broken shale so it's not going to be a smooth ride but the boys bravado is greater than their common sense. The description of their perilous downhill journey is full of adrenaline and gives them a great story to tell afterwards.
Steve Anderson has a great ability to get into his young character's heads and capture both their language and observations in exactly the right way. I loved the story of Shelly, drifting around a pool on her lilo, minding her own business and trying to keep her ear dry to prevent another ear infection, when she hears a commotion behind her. Turning round to see what's going on a boy asks if he can use her raft as he "ain't got no legs". The boys request is met with mockery and disbelief that someone would fake a medical condition (when she has a "real" one) just to try and get her lilo because they were too lazy to swim around. So imagine how she feels when she comes face to face with the same boy later and finds out that he was telling the truth.
All in all I enjoyed reading these stories and they're great if you only have snippets of time to lose yourself in a story. I hope that there are more stories and maybe even a novel in the pipeline.
With kind thanks to Steve Anderson for the review copy.
June 23, 2015
Having been born in 1978 I was just a babe in the 70's. While I've heard many stories from older friends and family, this is the way one should learn about growing up during that time. I found a connection with each of the 13 stories in this anthology. Each story is short which is reminiscent of times when my cousins and I sat on the floor and listened to my parents and grandparents tell us stories of the good ole days. Except in this case, it wasn't that long ago.
It's interesting to me to read about the Midwest as all of the stories handed down in my family are from Texas. I found myself laughing and repeating all of the slang phrases throughout the book. So many times in novels, authors forget what time frame they are in and something modern slips in. Steve Anderson stayed in his time frame and made me feel like I had been a bystander in each story.
While reading First Great War I even felt a tad embarrassed. I was so engrossed in the storytelling that I thought of myself as the youth Mr Dingus was telling a certain French story to. I may have blushed a bit. But these are the stories that make life memorable and Bravo to Mr Anderson for his wonderful storytelling skills.
It's interesting to me to read about the Midwest as all of the stories handed down in my family are from Texas. I found myself laughing and repeating all of the slang phrases throughout the book. So many times in novels, authors forget what time frame they are in and something modern slips in. Steve Anderson stayed in his time frame and made me feel like I had been a bystander in each story.
While reading First Great War I even felt a tad embarrassed. I was so engrossed in the storytelling that I thought of myself as the youth Mr Dingus was telling a certain French story to. I may have blushed a bit. But these are the stories that make life memorable and Bravo to Mr Anderson for his wonderful storytelling skills.
June 26, 2017
I grew up in the 1970s and the language is not authentic. For example, one teen guy calls another "dude". People would refer to a man as a dude, i.e. "she left the bar with some dude", but they didn't address one another as dude. It would have been "Man" as in "Don't call me that, man." Also, someone says that someone else has "ADD". No one used that term in the 70s. I don't think the condition had even been diagnosed in anyone back then. I couldn't get past the first story partly because of the misused slang, but also because it didn't really grab my interest even though I love coming-of-age novels, as well as novels set in the 70s.
November 16, 2015
Comprised of 13 tales, Steve Anderson's charming "1979" is a satisfying read through and through. These tales all depict coming-of-age for several characters in the deep of working-class America. However, the setting is only a stand-in for the universal feelings and themes that are introduced in each of the short stories, rife with characters who are tackling the difficult road to adulthood and coming to terms of understanding what their lot in life might be.
At the cusp of the decade that would see the birth of the personal computer and of punk music, each of the stories told by Anderson are about rebirth and recognition, to some extent. While the stark landscapes can come across as a bit disparate, the author manages to subvert the abandoned factories and rural surroundings and introduce characters that are not only realistic, but are, too, on the cusp of adulthood and a new age.
There are the requisite themes that are often present in coming-of-age novels, from innocent sexual awakenings to glimpsing the truths that lie hidden behind existing facades, both physically and literally. Some stories are bit more risque than others, but once again, the actions fit into the tone of each of the stories. And, strangely enough, the issues facing the characters in "1979" are very similar to the ones facing the kids of today's technological age, albeit in slightly different contexts.
"1979" is a modern contemplation into what it means to mature and the importance of life experience in contributing to what the adult version of oneself will be. Good job, Anderson.
Like this review? Read more like it at www.readingotherpeople.com
At the cusp of the decade that would see the birth of the personal computer and of punk music, each of the stories told by Anderson are about rebirth and recognition, to some extent. While the stark landscapes can come across as a bit disparate, the author manages to subvert the abandoned factories and rural surroundings and introduce characters that are not only realistic, but are, too, on the cusp of adulthood and a new age.
There are the requisite themes that are often present in coming-of-age novels, from innocent sexual awakenings to glimpsing the truths that lie hidden behind existing facades, both physically and literally. Some stories are bit more risque than others, but once again, the actions fit into the tone of each of the stories. And, strangely enough, the issues facing the characters in "1979" are very similar to the ones facing the kids of today's technological age, albeit in slightly different contexts.
"1979" is a modern contemplation into what it means to mature and the importance of life experience in contributing to what the adult version of oneself will be. Good job, Anderson.
Like this review? Read more like it at www.readingotherpeople.com
October 13, 2015
In this collection of short stories, Steven Anderson takes you on a ride through 1979.
In "Garage Wine," a couple of teens take a crack at booze-making.
A side-burned stranger regales a little girl with tales of his boyhood in "Melvin."
With elements like railroad tracks, mill yards, and rafts, I wondered what part of the country these stories were taking place. Was it Kansas or something?
I liked how the Southern, country-style dialogue was rendered in true, raw form, similar to what you'd find in classics like Of Mice and Men or Huckleberry Finn. Although the stories capture that Old Towne ambiance (this was 1979, but it felt more like 1879,) they were also somewhat average, long, and full of history. You'll actually feel like your grandpa is talking to you.
Coming from the 80's I couldn't really relate to this book. But if this was what 1979 was like, then "Wake me up before you Go-Go."
In "Garage Wine," a couple of teens take a crack at booze-making.
A side-burned stranger regales a little girl with tales of his boyhood in "Melvin."
With elements like railroad tracks, mill yards, and rafts, I wondered what part of the country these stories were taking place. Was it Kansas or something?
I liked how the Southern, country-style dialogue was rendered in true, raw form, similar to what you'd find in classics like Of Mice and Men or Huckleberry Finn. Although the stories capture that Old Towne ambiance (this was 1979, but it felt more like 1879,) they were also somewhat average, long, and full of history. You'll actually feel like your grandpa is talking to you.
Coming from the 80's I couldn't really relate to this book. But if this was what 1979 was like, then "Wake me up before you Go-Go."
July 7, 2015
The best thing I can say about a short story is when it makes me want to read more about the characters or the storyline. Steve Anderson has written a group of stories that do exactly that.
Set in various parts of the country, mostly the Midwest, Anderson recreates the mood and sense of the late 70’s. While each story stands alone, there is a common thread of innocence and naivete about each of the main characters. I found myself relating to every story as they invoked a memory from my life.
Anderson writes with an incredible insight into what it is like to be a teenager, both from the male and female perspective. These stories will make you laugh, cry, and as in my case, take you back in time.
This one gets five stars
Set in various parts of the country, mostly the Midwest, Anderson recreates the mood and sense of the late 70’s. While each story stands alone, there is a common thread of innocence and naivete about each of the main characters. I found myself relating to every story as they invoked a memory from my life.
Anderson writes with an incredible insight into what it is like to be a teenager, both from the male and female perspective. These stories will make you laugh, cry, and as in my case, take you back in time.
This one gets five stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews