Kaufman's Hill : [a memoir] / John C. Hampsey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hampsey, John C., 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Authors, American--Biography.

Authors, American.

Pittsburgh (Pa.)--History--20th century.

Pittsburgh (Pa.).

United States--Biography.

United States.

Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.

Hampsey, John C., 1954---Childhood and youth.

Hampsey, John C.

Hampsey, John C., 1954-.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

History.

Bildungsromans.

Place of Publication:

Bancroft Press

Summary:

Kaufman's Hill opens with a prosaic neighborhood scene: The author and some other young boys are playing by the creek, one of their usual stomping grounds. But it soon becomes clear that much more is going on; the boy-narrator is struggling to find his way in a middle-class Catholic neighborhood dominated by the Creely bullies, who often terrify him. It's the Pittsburgh of the early and mid-1960s, a threshold time just before the counter-culture arrives, and a time when suburban society begins to encroach on Kaufman's Hill, the boy's sanctuary and the setting of many of his adventures. As the hill and the 1950s vanish into the twilight, so does the world of the narrator's boyhood. "My pappy says if you're going to be afraid of everything, you may as well live in the sewer" are the words that first open the narrator's eyes. And once he befriends the enigmatic, erratic, but charismatic Taddy Keegan, he becomes bolder and no longer lives in abject fear of the Creelys. The narrator's relationship with Taddy proves to be unconventional, though. Taddy, caught in his own imaginary universe, is often unaware of companions around him. The narrator focuses on uncovering the mystery of Taddy: Why does he live his life like he's a performer? Who is he really?-- Source other than the Library of Congress.

ISBN:

1-61088-157-5