Helpful Score: 3
This book alternates between heart-breaking and heart-warming. I absolutely loved it, all the more because it is a true story. Frank lives a life that is filled with neglect, but he hardly realizes it. Still, it seems to fuel his daily life and explains much about his decisions. Would recommend to anyone to read!
The young Frank Conroy in Stop-Time is a heady mix of Holden Caulfield and George Orwell of Down and Out in Paris and London. It's the story of the son of an alcoholic, raised by a clueless mom and flighty stepfather, who frankly admits to his own cluelessless. He wanders in the backwoods of Florida, the streets of New York, and the halls of various institutions, without any guidance but his own inner energy and fierce desire to survive by observing and learning from the world around him -- which he does. You'll shake your head in wonder and awe at his recklessness and tenacity. I'm so glad he survived his haphazard childhood to write this book.
