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Finlater
A coming of age love and first-lust story set in racially charged Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1970s. Cliffy, black, and Noah, Jewish, are teens of their time, segregated by neighborhood, skin color and opportunity, yet neither boy has ever had a friend like the other.
292 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2008
3 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Shawn Stewart Ruff
13 books26 followersLambda Literary Award winner Shawn Stewart Ruff is the author of the novels Days Running (2025), GJS II (2016), Toss and Whirl and Pass (2010), Finlater, and the novella One/10th (2013). He is also the editor of the landmark anthology Go the Way Your Blood Beats (1996).
FYI: Cliffy Douglas, the young star of Finlater, gets a long-anticipated encore in Days Running, Ruff's most recent novel, published by DOPAMINE BOOKS in partnership with Semiotext(e) and MIT Press.
FYI: Cliffy Douglas, the young star of Finlater, gets a long-anticipated encore in Days Running, Ruff's most recent novel, published by DOPAMINE BOOKS in partnership with Semiotext(e) and MIT Press.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 18, 2011
I love Cliffy! He is thoughtful, intelligent, sympathetic, and kind in a sea of ugliness and hatred.
Finlater is set in the projects of Cincinnati in the barely post-segregation 1970s. The 13-year-old spelling champion and hero of this book enchanted me from the start. Intelligent Cliffy skips the 7th grade and meets his "soul brother," Noah. The boys are instantly drawn to each other and are launched into an amazing friendship that becomes so much more and teaches them about the overwhelming power of love. They cling to each other in the face of racial tension and crumbling families. Cliffy is struggling with the return of a father he's never known, who he refers to as "Bikini Dad" due to his choice of lounge wear. Noah's family is strained by mental illness. The child's vantage point created by author Shawn Stewart Ruff is honest and true and the characters are unforgettable. When I did manage to put this book down I couldn't stop thinking about them. It's tender and raunchy, sweet and real.
Some favorite moments:
[elderly German neighbor upon discovering that the new man around Cliffy's house is his dad.:]
"He's no dad. He's a child. A man-child. You more a man that he is. He break your mother's heart. The schwartze with big pee-pees is the reason for all these black children without fathers. Look at his underwear, you'll see.' She had a point about the underwear. According to the laundry blowing on the clotheslines, nobody's dad in our part of Finlater wore such fancy drawers".
[Cliffy's mom when she learns he doesn't want Noah to see where he lives.:]
"The only thing you should be ashamed of is the fact that you're ashamed. We don't choose our families or our families' situations. Hopefully you'll do better in your life than I have."
[regarding an older boy who had foreign porn mags.:]
"He could procure Swedish Pussy, and I guess it went to his head."
Finlater is set in the projects of Cincinnati in the barely post-segregation 1970s. The 13-year-old spelling champion and hero of this book enchanted me from the start. Intelligent Cliffy skips the 7th grade and meets his "soul brother," Noah. The boys are instantly drawn to each other and are launched into an amazing friendship that becomes so much more and teaches them about the overwhelming power of love. They cling to each other in the face of racial tension and crumbling families. Cliffy is struggling with the return of a father he's never known, who he refers to as "Bikini Dad" due to his choice of lounge wear. Noah's family is strained by mental illness. The child's vantage point created by author Shawn Stewart Ruff is honest and true and the characters are unforgettable. When I did manage to put this book down I couldn't stop thinking about them. It's tender and raunchy, sweet and real.
Some favorite moments:
[elderly German neighbor upon discovering that the new man around Cliffy's house is his dad.:]
"He's no dad. He's a child. A man-child. You more a man that he is. He break your mother's heart. The schwartze with big pee-pees is the reason for all these black children without fathers. Look at his underwear, you'll see.' She had a point about the underwear. According to the laundry blowing on the clotheslines, nobody's dad in our part of Finlater wore such fancy drawers".
[Cliffy's mom when she learns he doesn't want Noah to see where he lives.:]
"The only thing you should be ashamed of is the fact that you're ashamed. We don't choose our families or our families' situations. Hopefully you'll do better in your life than I have."
[regarding an older boy who had foreign porn mags.:]
"He could procure Swedish Pussy, and I guess it went to his head."
May 23, 2009
Finlater was a quick and fun read. I literally read through it in one sitting. The character development was spot on and the language and time really came through in the author's words.
Great if you're looking for something quick to get through with a cute and heartwarming story.
My heart is with Cliffy.
Great if you're looking for something quick to get through with a cute and heartwarming story.
My heart is with Cliffy.
March 11, 2009
A Very Important New Writer: A Remarkably Sensitive First Novel
Shawn Stewart Ruff may be a name known to only a few avid readers of short stories, but with the publication of FINLATER this gifted writer is bound to be recognized as a very important voice in American literature. Few writers are able to relate a story from a child's vantage as keenly as Ruff: echoes of such writers as JD Salinger and Colm Toibin and JG Hayes are present in this tender little love story that offers finely honed insights into the impact of racial tensions on the sociologic changes of the 1970s. It is a book that deserves wide critical attention as well as a broad readership.
The title FINLATER sets the tone of the message of this little treasure: the story takes place in the projects area of Cincinnati known as Findlater, but the main character and narrator of this tale is Cliffy Douglas, an African American 13-year-old lad who has just entered the eighth grade after success in a spelling bee where his only misspelled word was the name of his home zone he has always heard pronounced as 'Finlater'. Cliffy's home life is rocky - his brothers are raucous, early sexually developed (and active) trouble makers and his mother labors to feed her family which now includes the returned father figure who spends most of his time drinking and lounging in his bikini underwear. Life is not wholesome, but Cliffy's devotion to his mother holds him together.
As Cliffy begins his school year he is seated by a young Jewish lad, Noah Baumgarten, and as the story slowly unwinds we discover the differences and similarities between these two new friends. The spectrum in which each lives covers the racial tension in the neighborhoods as the bonded pair are referred to as Oreos, or more maliciously as Nigger and Jew. And it is this disparity of home life and background that makes each boy envy the status of the other - Cliffy wants to become a Jew and have a caring father and mother like Noah's and Noah longs to be a Soul Brother. Together they explore the limits of their environment of discord as well as the territory of their developing bodies and sexuality. In time their respective families meet (or rather collide) and the boys discover the secrets of each other's family members, with special attention focused on the fathers whose personal problems have shaped each boy's life. Out of this puzzling quagmire of family developments Cliffy and Noah plan an escape from it all, an escape that will allow them to live their young passionate love life without the gloom of their pasts. But can they find that path? That is where Ruff leaves the reader, hoping for a happy ending for these two wonderful kids, but without a map except the pathway to the heart these two unforgettable characters have carved in this story.
FINLATER explores same sex attraction in boys as they enter puberty as well as any author who has approached this subject. But Shawn Stewart Ruff writes with such restraint and eloquence that his characters never lose balance on the tight wire of racial, social, and color tensions they tread. In Cliffy's mother's words, 'One last thing. The only thing you should be ashamed of is the fact that you are ashamed. We don't choose our families or our families' situations. Hopefully you'll do better in your life than I have. You'll have a big house, a fancy car, and a family you choose to have.' And such is the manner in which Ruff approaches the entire story. This is as fine a coming of age book as you'll likely find on the shelves, and Shawn Stewart Ruff is a major new voice in American literature. This is one of those books that cannot be recommended highly enough! Even the unique presentation quality of the book by QUOTE Editions is remarkably excellent. Grady Harp
Shawn Stewart Ruff may be a name known to only a few avid readers of short stories, but with the publication of FINLATER this gifted writer is bound to be recognized as a very important voice in American literature. Few writers are able to relate a story from a child's vantage as keenly as Ruff: echoes of such writers as JD Salinger and Colm Toibin and JG Hayes are present in this tender little love story that offers finely honed insights into the impact of racial tensions on the sociologic changes of the 1970s. It is a book that deserves wide critical attention as well as a broad readership.
The title FINLATER sets the tone of the message of this little treasure: the story takes place in the projects area of Cincinnati known as Findlater, but the main character and narrator of this tale is Cliffy Douglas, an African American 13-year-old lad who has just entered the eighth grade after success in a spelling bee where his only misspelled word was the name of his home zone he has always heard pronounced as 'Finlater'. Cliffy's home life is rocky - his brothers are raucous, early sexually developed (and active) trouble makers and his mother labors to feed her family which now includes the returned father figure who spends most of his time drinking and lounging in his bikini underwear. Life is not wholesome, but Cliffy's devotion to his mother holds him together.
As Cliffy begins his school year he is seated by a young Jewish lad, Noah Baumgarten, and as the story slowly unwinds we discover the differences and similarities between these two new friends. The spectrum in which each lives covers the racial tension in the neighborhoods as the bonded pair are referred to as Oreos, or more maliciously as Nigger and Jew. And it is this disparity of home life and background that makes each boy envy the status of the other - Cliffy wants to become a Jew and have a caring father and mother like Noah's and Noah longs to be a Soul Brother. Together they explore the limits of their environment of discord as well as the territory of their developing bodies and sexuality. In time their respective families meet (or rather collide) and the boys discover the secrets of each other's family members, with special attention focused on the fathers whose personal problems have shaped each boy's life. Out of this puzzling quagmire of family developments Cliffy and Noah plan an escape from it all, an escape that will allow them to live their young passionate love life without the gloom of their pasts. But can they find that path? That is where Ruff leaves the reader, hoping for a happy ending for these two wonderful kids, but without a map except the pathway to the heart these two unforgettable characters have carved in this story.
FINLATER explores same sex attraction in boys as they enter puberty as well as any author who has approached this subject. But Shawn Stewart Ruff writes with such restraint and eloquence that his characters never lose balance on the tight wire of racial, social, and color tensions they tread. In Cliffy's mother's words, 'One last thing. The only thing you should be ashamed of is the fact that you are ashamed. We don't choose our families or our families' situations. Hopefully you'll do better in your life than I have. You'll have a big house, a fancy car, and a family you choose to have.' And such is the manner in which Ruff approaches the entire story. This is as fine a coming of age book as you'll likely find on the shelves, and Shawn Stewart Ruff is a major new voice in American literature. This is one of those books that cannot be recommended highly enough! Even the unique presentation quality of the book by QUOTE Editions is remarkably excellent. Grady Harp
April 13, 2009
This is a book I won in a Goodreads giveaway. I am certainly glad I did because I would not have sought out this book on my own.
It is a good story about a 2 boys from completly different cultures coming togther and falling in love for the first time. The thing that is so great about this book is that it is written from a 13 year old boys perspective. It shows the coming of age emotions and feelings. I am a grown, straight, white woman, with nothing in common with the main character, yet I relate with the characters experiences and emotions. I apreciate the love and devotion he has to his friend and the tender moments they share. It brought me back to my own experience with my first love as a teen and the inner conflict with craving independence from my parents while still really knowing I was a child.
It is a good story about a 2 boys from completly different cultures coming togther and falling in love for the first time. The thing that is so great about this book is that it is written from a 13 year old boys perspective. It shows the coming of age emotions and feelings. I am a grown, straight, white woman, with nothing in common with the main character, yet I relate with the characters experiences and emotions. I apreciate the love and devotion he has to his friend and the tender moments they share. It brought me back to my own experience with my first love as a teen and the inner conflict with craving independence from my parents while still really knowing I was a child.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2009
This was a Goodreads First Reads win, and I'm pleased I got to read it. The story follows the coming-of-age experience of a boy named Cliffy, who lives in the Cincinnati area during the 1970s. One almost immediately feels immersed in the reasoning of a barely adolescent boy, in the time period, in the poor neighborhood where he dwells (the namesake of the novel), and in the characters surrounding him.
Cliffy doesn't have it very easy; he, his three brothers, and his mother live in Finlater, a place where a husband and father are rarities (or as the author puts it, "seasonal"), filled with a cast of primarily female characters seemingly broken by life and the loss of their men.
His barely-remembered father has just returned to the family after a years-long absence at the start of the book, overwhelming him with mixed emotions, delighting his younger brother, and turning his older brother (the only one of the three brothers who remembers him) angry and sullen. Much of the story centers around the enigmatic, swaggering stranger who is Cliffy's father, the day-to-day emotional tensions of his newly-reunited family, and what Cliffy learns about his father's mysterious absence.
Race and the perceptions of various characters (from accepting to xenophobic) throughout the story plays a huge role as well in shaping how Cliffy views the world, mainly brought to light by his newfound friendship with Noah, a white Jewish boy from his new school. This kind of friendship is unheard of in Cliffy's neighborhood, where kids of like color and like background stick together. His father and brothers don't approve. His one remaining neighborhood friend doesn't approve... and to make matters more complicated, Cliffy becomes infatuated with Noah, who is not only separate from him in race and religion, but worse, a boy. Cliffy "just knows he's going to Hell."
The boys' relationship eventually gives Cliffy maturity and insight into the problems of his own lonely and haunted mother, trying as a first love may be.
In all, recommended reading and a character who is poignantly real and easy to care about.
Cliffy doesn't have it very easy; he, his three brothers, and his mother live in Finlater, a place where a husband and father are rarities (or as the author puts it, "seasonal"), filled with a cast of primarily female characters seemingly broken by life and the loss of their men.
His barely-remembered father has just returned to the family after a years-long absence at the start of the book, overwhelming him with mixed emotions, delighting his younger brother, and turning his older brother (the only one of the three brothers who remembers him) angry and sullen. Much of the story centers around the enigmatic, swaggering stranger who is Cliffy's father, the day-to-day emotional tensions of his newly-reunited family, and what Cliffy learns about his father's mysterious absence.
Race and the perceptions of various characters (from accepting to xenophobic) throughout the story plays a huge role as well in shaping how Cliffy views the world, mainly brought to light by his newfound friendship with Noah, a white Jewish boy from his new school. This kind of friendship is unheard of in Cliffy's neighborhood, where kids of like color and like background stick together. His father and brothers don't approve. His one remaining neighborhood friend doesn't approve... and to make matters more complicated, Cliffy becomes infatuated with Noah, who is not only separate from him in race and religion, but worse, a boy. Cliffy "just knows he's going to Hell."
The boys' relationship eventually gives Cliffy maturity and insight into the problems of his own lonely and haunted mother, trying as a first love may be.
In all, recommended reading and a character who is poignantly real and easy to care about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2015
What a remarkable book.
Ruff nails Cliffy's point of view in this. A bright maybe brilliant boy living with his mom, recently returned dad and his two brothers. Ruff deftly illustrates the push pull between love, anger and estrangement that grows up in a household beset with stresses. Each of the characters feels fully imagined and real.
Cliffy is the triumph of the book. He is precociously bright but he is so hard on himself and acepting of others that it is only through revealed details (skipping grades, offhand teachers comments, spelling bee champ) that one gets the height of his achievement and how indifferent his environment and even he himself is to it. The whole book works like this with subtle details revealing how difficult his world is even as Cliffy accepts this order as natural.
As bleak as this sounds there is plenty of warmth and humor in the book. I never felt depressed or hopeless even as Cliffy was dealing with some horrifying situations. This is largely due to Cliffy's unique strength, he has a tremendous goid natured buoyancy and energy that carries the reader through the hard times that always feels earned and not falsely hopeful. He's a dreamer but he also rolls with the punches.
The other delight of the book is Cliffy's relationship with his soul brother Noah, a jewish kid on the right side of the tracks.. Their friendship is alternately hilarious, hopeless, supportive and dysfunctiinal
My only complaint is the novel's ending. It just seems to stop with several pressing questions unresolved and I wanted to spend more time with these characters. Highly recommended.
Ruff nails Cliffy's point of view in this. A bright maybe brilliant boy living with his mom, recently returned dad and his two brothers. Ruff deftly illustrates the push pull between love, anger and estrangement that grows up in a household beset with stresses. Each of the characters feels fully imagined and real.
Cliffy is the triumph of the book. He is precociously bright but he is so hard on himself and acepting of others that it is only through revealed details (skipping grades, offhand teachers comments, spelling bee champ) that one gets the height of his achievement and how indifferent his environment and even he himself is to it. The whole book works like this with subtle details revealing how difficult his world is even as Cliffy accepts this order as natural.
As bleak as this sounds there is plenty of warmth and humor in the book. I never felt depressed or hopeless even as Cliffy was dealing with some horrifying situations. This is largely due to Cliffy's unique strength, he has a tremendous goid natured buoyancy and energy that carries the reader through the hard times that always feels earned and not falsely hopeful. He's a dreamer but he also rolls with the punches.
The other delight of the book is Cliffy's relationship with his soul brother Noah, a jewish kid on the right side of the tracks.. Their friendship is alternately hilarious, hopeless, supportive and dysfunctiinal
My only complaint is the novel's ending. It just seems to stop with several pressing questions unresolved and I wanted to spend more time with these characters. Highly recommended.
September 11, 2009
It may be very difficult to find this book. When I did a search for it, I found it in another state.
This book of a black male from the ghetto and his relationship with a Jewish boy from a "better part" of town, although they attend the same school, is powerful and in some ways possibly groundbreaking. Written by a well-published gay black man, this book has heart, sorrow, anger, grief, and will pull a number of other emotions from the reader.
Finlater is the name of the section of town that Cliffy lives i, or at least the way the people who live there pronounce the name. It was built by the WPA for poor white people, but the population has changed. When cliffy makes friends with Noah Baumgarten, their friends and people on the street attack them in many ways. When the boys develop a love relationship, with both of their dysfunctional families pulling on them, the world seems to escalate their trials.
This novel took my heart and wrung it dry. I do believe that YAs would benefit from this book, although I doubt the number who could possibly endure the plot line. While the writing is superb, the proofreading of this book is downright horrid!
.
This book of a black male from the ghetto and his relationship with a Jewish boy from a "better part" of town, although they attend the same school, is powerful and in some ways possibly groundbreaking. Written by a well-published gay black man, this book has heart, sorrow, anger, grief, and will pull a number of other emotions from the reader.
Finlater is the name of the section of town that Cliffy lives i, or at least the way the people who live there pronounce the name. It was built by the WPA for poor white people, but the population has changed. When cliffy makes friends with Noah Baumgarten, their friends and people on the street attack them in many ways. When the boys develop a love relationship, with both of their dysfunctional families pulling on them, the world seems to escalate their trials.
This novel took my heart and wrung it dry. I do believe that YAs would benefit from this book, although I doubt the number who could possibly endure the plot line. While the writing is superb, the proofreading of this book is downright horrid!
.
August 25, 2012
this book reminded me of sunday you learn how to box / bil wright,
yet it was different.
these boys had so much energy, especially when they went at it.
i thought cliffy was just a wonderful kid. i know he will be successful when he grows up. and noah, he was the best. what a crazy match, especially for that time
their relationship was so full of lust, as only teenage relationships are.
i thoroughly enjoyed the book. since i read it on my kindle, i missed some of the graphic design, that was mentioned in other reviews
the only thing that caught my attention is when noah said the the
MiSheberach (prayer for the ill) in the synagogue. i would think that for a teenage to know that pray by hard without reading it from the seder(prayer book) they would have to be fairly religious and attend services on a weekly schedule with their parents, and that did not seem to be the kind of family the baumgartens were.
but that did not at all tale away from this wonderful story
yet it was different.
these boys had so much energy, especially when they went at it.
i thought cliffy was just a wonderful kid. i know he will be successful when he grows up. and noah, he was the best. what a crazy match, especially for that time
their relationship was so full of lust, as only teenage relationships are.
i thoroughly enjoyed the book. since i read it on my kindle, i missed some of the graphic design, that was mentioned in other reviews
the only thing that caught my attention is when noah said the the
MiSheberach (prayer for the ill) in the synagogue. i would think that for a teenage to know that pray by hard without reading it from the seder(prayer book) they would have to be fairly religious and attend services on a weekly schedule with their parents, and that did not seem to be the kind of family the baumgartens were.
but that did not at all tale away from this wonderful story
August 11, 2009
The really great thing about this book is that you really feel like your in the character's head.
I've seen a couple people say it's too graphic or some such. I think that's ridiculous. It has some sex and swearing, but nobody's eating babies or anything, and the book's not loaded down with it.
Great character development, good story, touches the heart while still being realistic and very much not rose-tinted.
I really hope the author publishes more books, and I'm very glad I won a copy. On a completely not-writing related note, the cover texture and design inside were very cool and unique.
I've seen a couple people say it's too graphic or some such. I think that's ridiculous. It has some sex and swearing, but nobody's eating babies or anything, and the book's not loaded down with it.
Great character development, good story, touches the heart while still being realistic and very much not rose-tinted.
I really hope the author publishes more books, and I'm very glad I won a copy. On a completely not-writing related note, the cover texture and design inside were very cool and unique.
July 4, 2009
I won this title as a Goodreads giveaway and just now got around to finishing it. I didn't dislike the book, but for some reason it didn't grab me and keep me engrossed either and I found that I kept setting it down for periods of time. I think maybe it felt like it would have been better as a short story? I liked the depth of the characters that Ruff was able to construct and the story of first love and loss. It was a nice read, but didn't knock my socks off (although I know others would certainly disagree).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2009
I received this book as a goodreads giveaway. I was extremely surprised by how much I liked it. It's about two 8th grade boys from different walks of life that become friends in the 1970's. It's about the struggles of adolescence and dealing with your first love. There are alot of controversial issues discussed but it's all through the eyes of a thirteen year old. It gives you different perspective on life. ******vague spoiler********
I especially liked the end where Cliffy made a very grown up decision to not let history repeat itself.
I especially liked the end where Cliffy made a very grown up decision to not let history repeat itself.
January 2, 2010
Finlater is a wonderfully honest book about so many things: race, class, sexuality, love, friendship, and more. Cliffy is one of the best narrators I've ever read with. He's sensitive and innocent while still being occasionally cynical, and he's always honest, authentic and funny. Ruff's ability to capture his teenage voice so completely is the most striking aspect of the book. A good read and a great love story.
January 30, 2012
To define this book in one word: authentic.
The main character, Cliffy, narrates a life so real and gritty for a thirteen year old, it just breaks my heart. But I know it's truthful and realistic.
So many difficult topics addressed: racism, anti-semitism, segregation, abuse. It could have become a cliché so easily, yet everything is handled as poignantly as only someone who lived through it can.
Thank you Mr. Stewart for this sweet and heart-wrenching coming of age story.
The main character, Cliffy, narrates a life so real and gritty for a thirteen year old, it just breaks my heart. But I know it's truthful and realistic.
So many difficult topics addressed: racism, anti-semitism, segregation, abuse. It could have become a cliché so easily, yet everything is handled as poignantly as only someone who lived through it can.
Thank you Mr. Stewart for this sweet and heart-wrenching coming of age story.
December 15, 2008
Really a decent book. I just felt, though, that it could have been a lot more, given the complex themes it takes on (racism, classism, anti-semitism, sexual orientation, ghettoization, adolescence). The whole thing seemed too simplistic to me, but I guess that is to be expected in a book written in the voice of a precocious 13-year-old.
June 5, 2009
I found this book very difficult to get through. Since I won it as a Goodread giveaway I felt obligated to finish it. I felt it was too graphic and that there were loose ends that were just left hanging at the end of the book.
April 14, 2009
I thought that overall it was a good book. The other did a good job of tackling some really tough themes. I did feel like there could have been much more to the story.
May 6, 2009
A coming of age story like you have never read before.
May 19, 2009
Very interesting book, painted a great picture of the two central charachters and their struggles coming of age.
June 16, 2009
Coming of age story in middle town Ohio. Good read!
August 7, 2009
A real treasure of a book.
March 28, 2010
grim but very good...felt absolutely authentic in every way
February 3, 2012
more like a 2.5* if I can do that.
I just couldn't relate to the characters.
There were far too many loose ends for me.
The concept of the story is sweet I guess, but it just didn't work for me.
I just couldn't relate to the characters.
There were far too many loose ends for me.
The concept of the story is sweet I guess, but it just didn't work for me.
February 10, 2013
Exceptionally well done.
May 26, 2014
nice gender loving story line about interracial love in a small town
June 18, 2014
I don't like the prose, which is a bit scattered, and I certainly don't like the ending, which is short and sudden.
November 20, 2014
You can read my review of “Finlater” at my web site.
August 9, 2009
Loved, loved, loved it!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews