A very good read. ( )

I'm certain a lot of interest was generated in this title because Sam Halpern is the father behind the pithy, blunt, and rather salty pronouncements of son Justin Halpern's Sh*t My Dad Says. Given the brief and opinionated nature of his comments to his son, the idea of Sam Halpern writing a novel is certainly intriguing. And his choice of subject matter, an aging man making a pilgrimage to a place in childhood that shaped who he was more than any other place, is certainly unexpected. So could he do it, write at length about a much more sentimental idea than anything that has been attributed to him thus far?

Samuel Zelinsky is an old man, a retired professor of English literature, celebrated in his field but a bit at sea after the death of his beloved wife Nora. He's returning to Kentucky, where he lived with his family for a couple of years as they sharecropped in the hills outside of Lexington in the years immediately following World War II. The years in that small hill community were the most formative of his life and though he's long left it behind, he still has unresolved issues from his time there that he is reluctant to revisit but also determined to face in order to fulfill his wife's last charge to him. As he walks through the changed landscape, he stumbles across reminders of times long past and the boy he was, stirring bittersweet memories of best friend Fred Cody Mulligan and the hardship and innocence of their lives then.

As Samuel explores the changed landscape, he reminisces about his deep friendship with Fred, easily segueing from the present day into the 1940s narrative of his boyhood. Samuel and Fred fished and trapped, fought and explored, and with two more friends discovered (and then concealed) the source of evil that horrified the town with gruesome livestock slayings. They were the best of friends, nearly inseparable, and when Samuel's family eventually moved to Indiana and bought their own farm, the boys vowed that they would always be friends, always be there for each other. And yet Samuel hasn't returned to this green, tobacco farming part of Kentucky in sixty years, nor has he seen Fred since, even when Fred asked him to come. And that is what has driven his visit now, his desire to face up to his failure with his friend and the necessary, if rather late, need to honor their vow to each other. Most of Samuel's wandering is solitary and his recounting of these boyhood memories isn't made to anyone else (at least until later in the book). His journey back to Kentucky is terribly important to him so that he can receive absolution and for his own understanding of who he has been all his life but the reader doesn't really have a decent understanding of the man he is now. His life after his family left Berman's farm is only briefly sketched in and incompletely hinted at.

The tale of the two young boys is certainly more compelling than the theme of redemption and where that storyline goes in the end and a portion of that is probably because Samuel as an older man remains so incompletely drawn. The Kentucky setting is very authentic and the evocation of an earlier time rings true but the novel is a bit too excessively detailed, with description overwhelming plot. Samuel and Fred drift in and out of dialect when they speak and distractingly enough, the older Samuel adopts a regression into partial dialect at the very end of the novel despite not doing so right from the get go of his return to the area. The ending of the novel is very rushed, Fred's granddaughter Lisa June makes an abrupt about face in her feelings about Samuel, and Samuel himself easily and quickly overcomes his own stated reservations about this young woman in order to bring the novel to a quick emotional close that feels unearned. Although I personally was unable to love this novel, many people will find it a sweetly sentimental coming of age and will appreciate the careful drawing of a rural 1940s boyhood. ( )

We meet twelve-year-old Sam Zelinsky, who along with his family- Dad, Mom, and three older siblings- are sharecropping on a farm in Kentucky. Sharecropping is an incredibly tough life, and Halpern's writing really opened up my eyes to a world I did not know well. Not only are the sharecroppers dependent on the weather, like most farmers, they are also subject to the owners of the farms and their sometimes changing whims. The Zelinskys hope to make enough money to buy their own farm in Indiana.

Sam's best friend is Fred, whose family is struggling even more so than Sam's family. Fred's father saves every penny he makes to put toward buying mules and equipment, even if it means his family goes without food or decent clothing.

I enjoyed watching Sam and Fred's friendship develop. I live with my husband and two sons, and so that world of maleness fascinates me. Much like Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, it gave me great insight into how boys relate to each other.

The book moves back and forth between now and the years on the farm in Kentucky. Sam's beloved wife Nora told him before she died that he needed to go back to Kentucky to look for his friend Fred whom he hasn't seen in 60 years, even though Fred had tried to get in touch a few times over the years.

There is some action in the book as someone is savagely butchering livestock. Sam, Fred and two of their friends stumble upon where this crazed man is hiding, but they don't tell anyone because they fear that two of the boys' fathers will beat them for going somewhere they have been forbidden to go.

The boys decide to protect each other rather than tell the truth about what they know. Anyone who has dealt with young people has probably run across this. The young mind isn't mature enough to make a reasoned decision. It is more important to be loyal to a friend.

When the crazy man burns down a home and tries to kill Sam, they boys are forced to tell what they know. The scenes with the sheriff and the boys and their fathers as they first try to get the boys to tell the truth and then go after the man are crackling with tension.

The last few chapters tell Sam's story as he goes back to Kentucky to track down his friend Fred. His journey is moving as he tries to redeem himself. He moved away and left everything and everyone behind, and now he has regrets about not staying in touch.

Reading this did make me think about the journey we are on as we travel through life. We make friends at different stages, and this book will encourage you to be grateful for everyone you have loved, and to remember that they played a part in making you who you are.

My favorite line in the book is this one from the adult Sam:
"Being human is difficult", I said aloud. "Common decency is the greatest quality to which one can aspire and the hardest to practice."

Reading Justin's books, I always knew that his dad Sam had a big heart and I am glad to see that he gets to express his voice in this beautiful novel, which I suspect has much in common with Sam's own young years (and not just that he and his protagonist share a name).

The only criticism I have is that some of the descriptions of the Kentucky landscape went on a bit too long for me. ( )

A Far Piece to Canaan is not my usual reading fare. But I was extremely curious to read it, as Sam Halpern is the father of Justin Halpern - author of Sh*t My Dad Says. Could the same dad with the somewhat foul mouth and no filter really write a book befitting such a bucolic cover?

Surprisingly, yes.

English Professor Samuel Zelinsky's wife Nora has just died of cancer. Before her death, she made Sam promise to return to the hills of Kentucky where he spent part of his youth. Sam has never really talked about those years, growing up as the son of sharecroppers, but somehow Nora knew he had unfinished business. And Sam honours that promise.

As Sam tours through his childhood haunts, the narrative switches back to 1945 and we meet ten year old Sam and his soon to be best friend Fred Cody Mulligan. Halpern does an admirable job in bringing this time and space to life. His descriptive prose bring to life the croak of frogs, the sweetness of an apple and the coolness of a mountain stream. But not everything is idealic - there is something evil lurking around the bottomless Blue Hole. Local superstition says it's the devil, but the boys find evidence that the evil is human. This event is the catalyst for what transpires, shapes and changes the lives of Sam, Fred and their two friends. For me, A Far Piece to Canaan had a very 'Stand By Me' feel to it.

We are transported back and forth from past to present as Sam tries to come to terms with his actions in the past and make reparations in the present.

About halfway through the book, I wondered about there really being Jewish sharecroppers in Kentucky in the 1940s. It was only as I searched our more about the author that I discovered that this was truly Sam Halpern's life. He was that Jewish sharecropper's kid in Kentucky. (Read the full interview here at Tablet Magazine.) And upon discovering that I looked at the book with a different set of eyes in the second half.

For Halpern is writing what he knows, what he lived and what he remembers. "Like every novel, it’s a mixture of fact and fiction. Much of the description of central Kentucky and the life of the sharecroppers are real." It is this 'insider' knowledge that gave the book such a real feel.

I enjoyed the character of Sam and his description of day to day life. The supporting cast of characters were just as well drawn. I did have a bit of problem accepting the reason the boys 'won't tell', as well as Sam's relationship with Ben and the need to keep it a secret.

Some of the vernacular used was easy to decipher. Hit'll for It will I got, wudn't for would not, but some words I had to guess at. Hun'ney for honey? It is only used by one ten year old boy talking to the other and seemed a bit odd. It seemed a bit hit or miss, with some words that would be easily contracted being spelled out fully such as old (ole) and just (jes'). Minor quibble.

For this reader, the best part of the book was set in the past. I found the 'redemption' part of the story in the last few chapters didn't hold my interest as well (I thought it was a bit too saccharine)

All in all, an admirable debut. And much different than I expected! ( )

Samuel, now a retired professor and widower, returns to the home of his youth in search of redemption and the best friend he's ever had. Raised the son of a sharecropper in Kentucky, this story follows Samuel's time in Harper's Corner, Kentucky. As a young boy, Samuel finds himself entrenched in a dangerous mystery that threatens the entire village, while he and his friends wonder whether they may be able to stop it. As a man, Samuel must come to terms with having abandoned his best friend, and with whether or not he could have made a difference.

I found this book to be a surprisingly sentimental read. Considering the author is also the originator of such hysterically crass and brutally honest statements as those shared by his son via Sh*t My Dad Says, I am amazed at how sweet and touching this story was, especially when being written by a self-described curmudgeon.

The author created a cast of very likable characters. The main character, Samuel Zelinsky, is a sweet boy-- conscientious, respectful and thoughtful. His best friend Fred is likewise a good boy, but shoulders the weight of the world and often has a difficult time managing his depression. But he's a very brave and spirited boy. Likewise I became very fond of their friend Lonnie, who comes from an abusive home and therefore has become tough as nails on the surface (although underneath it all, he is just as sweet as Samuel and Fred).

The speech pattern used among the boys can be difficult to adjust to. The characters speak in the dialect of the Kentucky hills, saying things like "wudn't" (wasn't), "hit's" (it is), and "bob warr'll cut ye" (barbed wire will cut you).

I have discovered over the last year that I am quite fond of southern literature. There is a richness and depth to the characters that is captivating, and having grown up in the south, a certain familiarity. This book did not disappoint!

My final word: This story continually reminded me of Stephen King's "Stand By Me". The friendships that exist amongst a group of boys, the setting, the sense of innocence lost. I love "Stand By Me", so I mean the comparison in the best way possible. Samuel, Fred and Lonnie all became characters that I truly cared about. The storyline kept me guessing, there were lots of other colorful characters on the periphery, and ultimately the story was just plain charming. ( )