The Tattered Box

by Paul Schumacher

Eighteen-year-old John receives a peculiar gift from his elderly grandpa: a timeworn box filled with items from the past. John soon discovers what they all mean when he travels back to 1941 and suddenly finds himself the same age as his grandpa. They play baseball together, enjoy a double date, yet endure hardships and the imminent threat of war. As the items in the box become the ultimate storytellers, John hopes to appreciate his grandpa for who he is.

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2016

About the author

Paul Schumacher was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He currently lives in Colorado with his amazing wife, three wonderful kids, and two lazy cats. He works by day as an engineer and fits in writing whenever he can. His first novel, The Tattered Box, was published in December 2016, and his second book, The Importance of Now, was published in May 2021.

Reviews

[Manoj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book with tempered expectations as this was the authors first book. I was pleasantly surprised with his ability to bring out the details so the readers saw what the characters did.

The story is about a teenage boy, John, who lives with his grandfather. His grandfather loves to tell stories about his life which John is sure had major exaggerations. Then a freak accident allows John to witness the stories himself, which gives him a completely new perspective.

The author does a nice job of drawing the picture in the readers mind. At first, I was put off by the amount of detail provided, but by the third chapter, I didn't seem to notice anymore since the story had drawn me in. Great first book and I'm looking forward to reading many more from Mr. Schumacher.

I highly recommend this book.

[Linnea Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tattered Box by Paul Schumacher is a memorable coming of age story about John, a young man coming to grips with his father who left him when he was a young boy. His elderly grandfather, Bill, leaves him a tattered box full of items evoking memories of his past. After John is hit by a baseball and knocked unconscious, he mysteriously time travels to 1941 where he meets his grandfather as a young man. It is as if the past, present, and future join into one timeline. All of the items in the tattered box are left intact at the beginning of John's journey into the past. As John adjusts to the pre-WWII culture, he becomes friends with Bill and shares every moment that the items in the tattered box symbolize. As John learns more about his grandfather, he gains insight into himself and discovers the importance that memories hold for the future.

This is a beautifully written, multi-layered story with rich symbolism. One of the more poignant scenes is when John and Bill observe an eagle protecting its helpless eaglets in the nest. John says, "Their father would teach them everything he knew, then suddenly push them out of the nest, forcing them to flap their wings in one death-defying leap." This is a pivotal scene that ties into the heartfelt ending, leaving a visual memory forever etched in my mind.

I highly recommend this book for the poignant message about how moments of the past, present, and future co-exist between generations.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tattered Box is a standalone novel about memories and family, and falls into the general fiction category.

John is a typical teenager in that he has heard all of his grandfather Bill’s stories before, and gets irritated when he brings them up time and time again. One day Bill brings out a box of old objects, treasures to him but a bore to John. A little later John goes to play in a baseball game and gets clocked in the head by a ball. When he wakes up he is in 1941 and has assumed the body of a youngster named John who is friends with Bill. As the war approaches, John and Bill share many events and John learns why the objects have become treasures.

So many people are guilty of brushing aside the older generation’s tales with excuses of “it’s not relevant in modern life” or “we’ve heard it all before” without realising that this was actually part of a person’s life and that one day we will do the same. John learned what it was like to have a father, to be faced with an uncertain future and to deal with death, as well as enjoy the simpler things in life. I did find it strange that he was only a little worried about going back in time and just assumed it would be ok to take over this person’s life for an indeterminate amount of time. The writing was a little too “articulate” for the time period too considering John was only 18. His dialogue or emotions attributed to him were often too mature like “She barely acknowledged me, yet her posture did not portray rudeness” or “Yet she bore a noticeably fraught anxiety on her face.”

Overall I enjoyed how John was able to see his grandfather as a person and participate in some of the experiences that made him who he was. We have a lot to learn from others and while we are prone to try and bring in our own experiences, sometimes we must just quieten down and absorb.

[Dale L. Hand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerizing

Paul Schumacher is a friend, let me say that first. I respect and enjoy him and his sweet wife and family so learning he had written this book was an added pleasure. I downloaded a sample of his book, thinking I’d find a hard copy so he could sign it for me. But weeks turned to months and I lost track of that thought. Then we spoke and I immediately downloaded the rest of this book and finished it in a few hours. I was hooked immediately and considered not sleeping last night in order to finish it! I loved his writing style and could easily imagine the Wisconsin small town and people as I read his descriptions and felt the emotions and personalities of the characters. He blends real events with beautiful embellishments and brings the stories he says came from family members to life. I highly recommend this wonderful book!