I am not sure how I missed this book when it came out in 1998. I was working in a public library at the time and I remember it being popular when it was published, then the movie based on the book, October Sky, came out and the book became popular all over again. I saw the movie and really liked it, but I still didn't read the book.
That has been remedied. My book group is reading this book for June and I am so glad. What a lovely memoir.
The time is 1957, the place is Coalwood, West Virginia, and the inciting incident is the race for space. Russia had launched Sputnik and suddenly the world was a new and bigger place. Hickman and a group of his buddies, nerds we might call them, started building and launching rockets. Family drama ensued. Mom wants her kids to be all they can be, to escape the coal mining life that she and her husband live. Dad sees in Homer a possible successor in his job as foreman at the coal mines. Homer dreams of space and working with the big guys in rocket engineering.
As harsh as the times and place are, this is a kind story. I suppose there is a Leave it to Beaver quality to it. Bad things and roadblocks to dreams do happen, but still I think Hickman would say that he lived the good life where neighbors knew each other and cared about each other, and cheered on a bunch of teens who where blasting off rockets in the mine slag heaps.
You know that people who read memoirs sometimes recommend them by saying they read like novels and I suppose this is true of Rocket Boys, but more than that. It is a story about a real person who has a goal and works hard to attain it. I am very glad that I finally got to read this book. Highly recommended. And if you have teenage boys who need a summer read, I think this book would be a perfect choice.
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4 comments:
Ha ha, I had to laugh at what you said about people recommending memoirs by saying they read like novels. That's the main thing that can lure me to read a memoir, since I rarely enjoy memoirs.
I'm sorry to see you have MS. I also have a chronic illness and have only this year started having problems continuing to work. I had to take 2 months off this winter, just had surgery, and go back in August. When you retired, was it a sudden thing, or did you find yourself less and less able to work over time? If this is too personal a question, just ignore me! :)
Hi Dewey, Not to opersonal. For me, I kept getting worse and worse and my work suffered. I just couldn't do the job anymore. MS fatigue was a big factor, but I could no longer walk and even the scooter didn't help any more. I have had MS for 17 years now.
Interesting to know.
The movie and also the book is so inspiring.One of the best books I have ever read...
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