Old John Author:Peter Hartling (translated by Elizabeth D. Crawford) "He's seventy-five years old, and he's a little mad!" Fatehr argues, but nothing will sway Mother, Laura, or Jacob from having Old John come to live with them. They know it won't be easy, and, right from the start, it isn't! — He's coming by train, but he arrives in a moving van -- with ALL his furniture! And he isn't in the house more than fiv... more »e minutes before he declares the wallpaper in his room "hideous" and insists that the room be painted.
Mother must endure a day of the power going off and on while Old John rewires the doorbell so it will ring in his room. Father's in trouble when he unknowingly sits on the corner of the couch that Old Johan has staked out as his own!
Tension mounts when Old John gets sick, and emotions reach the boiling point when he becomes a danger to the Schirmers and to himself.
Without doubt, Old John is an unforgettable character: alternaltey cantankerous, proud, lovable, and in the end understandable. This realisitic and affectionate look at the world of an older person will touch readers with its humor and warmth.« less