What do you think?
Rate this book
Martin O'Boy #2
Pure Spring
In this eagerly awaited sequel to the award-winning Boy O'Boy, it’s spring in post-World War II Ottawa and Martin O’Boy has finally found a true home with Grampa Rip. Martin’s also found a job, working for the Pure Spring soft drink company. Best of all, he's in love with beautiful Gerty McDowell. But everything’s not perfect. Martin lied to kindly Mr. Mirsky, Pure Spring’s owner, to get the job. Grampa Rip’s brain increasingly goes missing. There’s that mysterious, yet oddly familiar, man in the park. Too, there are Martin’s memories; the sudden appearance of famed Soviet defector Igor Gouzensko; and Martin’s shady boss Randy. And worst of all, Gerty's grandfather is being robbed by Randy, with Martin forced to act as his accomplice. Martin’s happiness, his sense of duty, and his love for Gerty collide. Can he find his way through these dire developments? Brian Doyle’s fast-paced plot and vivid characterizations, along with the lively colloquial dialogue and period detail, create a rich historical portrait that confirms the author’s place as a master of the genre.
174 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2007
29 people want to read
About the author
Brian Doyle
72 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
My very first piece of writing I published myself. I wrote in block letters, on the playground of Angelesca Square after a fresh snow fall, huge letters that airplanes could see, these words: MY BEST FRIEND GERALD IS A BASTARD.
For some reason (it was 1942) I wanted the Germans, who were coming any minute now to drop bombs on us, to know about Gerald. I'd overheard my parents talking sadly about Gerald being illegitimate and how sorry they felt. I thought if the Germans knew about Gerald and his problem and that he was my best friend they'd turn around and go home and not drop their bombs on us, here in Lowertown, Ottawa, Canada.
Of course, they never arrived (such was the power of radio those days) but they were the intended audience of my first sentence. First published sentence.
To communicate in clear, written sentences has been my vocation ever since.
In the middle of a teaching career I began dabbling in the genre of youthful narration in the tradition of Twain's Huck Finn. At the same time, I met the flower of the flock, the estimable, the eximious, the nonpareil editor and publisher, Patsy Aldana of Groundwood Books.
Together we have produced a dozen books and we're still cooking. The books are set in the Gatineau river valley and Ottawa. They are funny and sad! They are read by people of all ages though the narrators are young. The narrators are the age of the child who saw the Emperor's nakedness. They are clear eyed, candid, smart, unsophisticated and inexperienced.
The books have multiple layers, resulting in reluctant readers discovering them while elsewhere they are studied in university courses.
They have been translated in seven different languages and have been awarded national and international prizes too numerous to list here. They have been adapted to radio, stage and film. I have appeared in twenty performances of our book Angel Square on the stage of the National Arts Centre.
There has also been an opera and there's talk of a ballet. I have rinsed out my long-sleeved leotard and am waiting by the phone for the audition call.
I spend a lot of time at my cabin in the Gatineau Hills, sometimes with my four grandchildren and their parents, keeping in touch with the trees and the river and the rocks and keeping my ears and eyes open for those Luftwaffe bombers.
My very first piece of writing I published myself. I wrote in block letters, on the playground of Angelesca Square after a fresh snow fall, huge letters that airplanes could see, these words: MY BEST FRIEND GERALD IS A BASTARD.
For some reason (it was 1942) I wanted the Germans, who were coming any minute now to drop bombs on us, to know about Gerald. I'd overheard my parents talking sadly about Gerald being illegitimate and how sorry they felt. I thought if the Germans knew about Gerald and his problem and that he was my best friend they'd turn around and go home and not drop their bombs on us, here in Lowertown, Ottawa, Canada.
Of course, they never arrived (such was the power of radio those days) but they were the intended audience of my first sentence. First published sentence.
To communicate in clear, written sentences has been my vocation ever since.
In the middle of a teaching career I began dabbling in the genre of youthful narration in the tradition of Twain's Huck Finn. At the same time, I met the flower of the flock, the estimable, the eximious, the nonpareil editor and publisher, Patsy Aldana of Groundwood Books.
Together we have produced a dozen books and we're still cooking. The books are set in the Gatineau river valley and Ottawa. They are funny and sad! They are read by people of all ages though the narrators are young. The narrators are the age of the child who saw the Emperor's nakedness. They are clear eyed, candid, smart, unsophisticated and inexperienced.
The books have multiple layers, resulting in reluctant readers discovering them while elsewhere they are studied in university courses.
They have been translated in seven different languages and have been awarded national and international prizes too numerous to list here. They have been adapted to radio, stage and film. I have appeared in twenty performances of our book Angel Square on the stage of the National Arts Centre.
There has also been an opera and there's talk of a ballet. I have rinsed out my long-sleeved leotard and am waiting by the phone for the audition call.
I spend a lot of time at my cabin in the Gatineau Hills, sometimes with my four grandchildren and their parents, keeping in touch with the trees and the river and the rocks and keeping my ears and eyes open for those Luftwaffe bombers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 8, 2024
A quick read to pass the time.
Martin O'Boy, age 15 gets a job at Pure Springs soft drink company to help out his Honorary Grandpa, who he lives with. He is an honest boy normally but lies to get this job. He works with another man who is not so honourable and is stealing from his clients.
Martin meets a young lady who's grandfather owns one of the shops that they stole from. His heart is torn about what to do. Keep his job or tell the truth and make it right. In the end he does the right thing and gets rewarded for it proving that an honest day is worth more than lies.
Martin O'Boy, age 15 gets a job at Pure Springs soft drink company to help out his Honorary Grandpa, who he lives with. He is an honest boy normally but lies to get this job. He works with another man who is not so honourable and is stealing from his clients.
Martin meets a young lady who's grandfather owns one of the shops that they stole from. His heart is torn about what to do. Keep his job or tell the truth and make it right. In the end he does the right thing and gets rewarded for it proving that an honest day is worth more than lies.
February 11, 2018
Although I enjoy this author, this book was written for juveniles (not verr young ones) and I didn't think it was as good as most of Doyle's other books that I've read so far. I also thought a couple of passages were too strong for juveniles, too graphic. The story has a good moral lesson, ultimately.
February 7, 2018
I love Brian Doyle's writing. He packs so much wit into everyday situations and creates characters that you know.
February 28, 2009
I enjoyed this, read it in a couple of hours over two days. I needed something easy and quick and this fit the bill. It was cool reading about places that used to be in Ottawa, that aren't there anymore, places that are familiar.
January 22, 2016
An orphan boy, Martin O'Boy, lives with an old man, Grandpa Rip, gets a job with a soda bottling company by lying about his age, and gets blackmailed by his supervisor into stealing from the customers by his supervisor.
May 30, 2016
In my honest opinion I think that this book was a great read. It was an easy read so anyone would be easy to read it. It had a great meaning behind the book and what it was trying to get across to the reader. Another thing about the book is that I was a able to relate to the book.
February 18, 2018
An easy and quick read...not terrible exciting but a cute story.
September 13, 2015
I thought it was going to be the story of the Pure Spring soft drink company - but actually Pure Spring was extremely tangential to this story. Which was a kind of sweet story but very slight.
Read
March 23, 2018Pure Spring by Brian Doyle
In Ottawa in the 1950’s Martain O’Boy and his guardian Grandpa Rip have a loving and warm relationship. Martain is employed at a place called Pure Springs. The minimum age to work there is 16 but Martin is desperate and needs a way to make money so he stops asking for money. Pure Spring is an honesty industry, so when Martin joins he feels bad. In the end he meets a beautiful girl and plans to live with her once he saves up enough money.
Martin changes a lot throughout the novel he becomes more mature. At the beginning of the story Martin does not care much for his grandfather, but during the end he meets a nice young lady and takes great care of his grandfather. Martin’s job taught him a lot about being honest which in the end made him more mature.
This book is written in first person for narration and second person for when the main character relates back to a flashback.
The author did not do well on adding extra information to give the reader a visual image of what’s going on in the book. The author did well on distributing whether the text is being narrated in first or second person.
In Ottawa in the 1950’s Martain O’Boy and his guardian Grandpa Rip have a loving and warm relationship. Martain is employed at a place called Pure Springs. The minimum age to work there is 16 but Martin is desperate and needs a way to make money so he stops asking for money. Pure Spring is an honesty industry, so when Martin joins he feels bad. In the end he meets a beautiful girl and plans to live with her once he saves up enough money.
Martin changes a lot throughout the novel he becomes more mature. At the beginning of the story Martin does not care much for his grandfather, but during the end he meets a nice young lady and takes great care of his grandfather. Martin’s job taught him a lot about being honest which in the end made him more mature.
This book is written in first person for narration and second person for when the main character relates back to a flashback.
The author did not do well on adding extra information to give the reader a visual image of what’s going on in the book. The author did well on distributing whether the text is being narrated in first or second person.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews