Every adult who has ever read or seen a coming-of-age story recognizes a significant difference between the fictional tale and their own youth. Most coming-of-age stories culminate in a major life-changing event that shapes the protagonist’s personality and sets them inevitably on the path to the adult they become. However, such climactic life-changing events are almost non-existent in the real world. So, it came as a pleasant surprise to me when reading “A Kid from Marlboro Road,” Edward Burns’s tale of a 12-year-old boy in Long Island in the summer of 1980, that there is no such life-changing event in the book. Instead, as in real life, many small moments guide the protagonist closer to adulthood.

"A Kid from Marlboro Road” is the story of Kneeney, who turns 13 on August 31, 1980, the day the book ends. (The author doesn’t mention specific dates but refers to John McEnroe beating Bjorn Borg at the U.S. Open after losing to Borg earlier that summer at Wimbledon. Those tournaments took place in 1980.) Kneeney comes from a not-atypical Irish-American family. His father is a cop and the son of a small-time hood who got in permanent trouble with the mob a few decades earlier. His mother works at JFK Airport. Kneeney has a 17-year-old brother who usually acts like a jerk, stays out late at night, and drinks a lot. Kneeney’s maternal grandfather, Pop McSweeney, dies that summer, an event the book references several times.

Besides Pop McSweeney’s death, little of note occurs in “A Kid from Marlboro Road.” Kneeney and his father go camping several times in the backyard or on more distant Long Island beaches. He plays Little League baseball (which he likes) and still serves as an altar boy (which he doesn’t). He attends a Catholic school where the nuns believe in corporal punishment, and he rough houses with his friends who believe in mutual bruising. Overall, it’s a typical summer for a typical boy on the verge of adolescence. If I were to write the story of my own 12th summer, the events I would describe would probably be like Kneeney’s (although even the adult me wouldn’t tell them nearly as well as the author does).

What makes “A Kid from Marlboro Road” so fascinating isn’t what happens, but how the author describes them. Kneeney already knows that his parents’ marriage is on shaky ground, and as the book progresses, he reveals many minor details showing how depressed his mother is and his father’s inability to help the situation. Kneeney’s father has also pretty much given up on guiding the boy’s older brother, so the summer becomes more of a bonding experience between father and son. He grows closer to his mother as well. “A Kid from Marlboro Road” imitates real life here. There is no magic moment in which the parents resolve their issues; instead, life goes on, with Kneeney caught in the middle. (This book is supposedly the first volume of a proposed trilogy, so some of these plot points may be resolved in subsequent books.)

“A Kid from Marlboro Road” has a lot of humor, but it’s mainly of the chuckling variety, not the laugh-out-loud, bizarre set pieces often found in coming-of-age tales. The most significant event occurs when the family runs out of gas late at night because Kneeney’s brother had taken the car out for joy rides and never refilled the tank (the car’s gas gauge doesn’t work). Their father lays down the law (over Mom’s objections), forcing the older brother to walk to the nearest gas station with a gas can to refill the car.

The book contains a lot of period detail and references. Some of these, like the mentions of the New York Yankees (who were in the middle of a championship run), bring back my own memories of the era. Kneeney also describes how the Rolling Stones gave him an appreciation for rock music, another shout-out for classic rock fans. “A Kid from Marlboro Road” contains many geographic references to Queens and Long Island, such as a trip to the world-famous Fulton Fish Market. I’ve never been there, but the author’s descriptions made the places come alive for me.

Besides the empty gas tank moment, most of the book’s humor comprises wry observations by the author through the person of narrator Kneeney. The author avoids the mistake of narrating the book with an adult’s insight and life experiences. Instead, it sounds like what a 12-year-old would write. When Kneeney’s mother gives him some Eugene O’Neill books to read (the boy won a poetry prize the year before), he says. “Looking at the titles, the O’Neill books look really boring except maybe ‘The Hairy Ape.’ But ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’ sounds like a tagline for the most boring story ever told.”

Author Edward Burns is almost the exact age of the fictional Kneeney, and his early life story is like Kneeney’s in many ways (Burns’s father was also a cop, and he attended the same school as Kneeney). Under those circumstances, it’s natural to wonder how much of himself Burns put into this story. In any event, the book sounds quite authentic. While that’s a strength in many ways, it also means there’s a lot of repetition, with Kneeney revisiting the same events multiple times. “A Kid from Marlboro Road” is short, but it also feels padded in spots to get to the length of a short novel.

Those expecting a traditional coming-of-age novel may be disappointed by “A Kid from Marlboro Road.” For Kneeney and his family, life goes on without significant life lessons or disruptions. But the author demonstrates that there’s a lot worth remembering in this coming-of-age story, even if there aren’t a lot of memorable events. Instead, readers can spend time with a typical Irish-American family of that period, not perfect or terrible, but entirely human and believable.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

One gets the sense that the narrator of A Kid From Marlboro Road, whom his mother affectionately calls Kneeney, is a quiet twelve-year-old. After all, he seems to spend his entire life listening to everyone else's stories of their life, sometimes over and over, not that he minds at all. But he seems to be a listener, an observer. That is to say, an aspiring writer, although he doesn't know it yet, not explicitly.

But as he writes about his observations and feelings on an old typewriter his father gave him, words and sentences and paragraphs and chapters just gush out of him. Stream of consciousness in the tradition of his Irish heritage. Run on sentences in the tradition of a young boy who just can't wait to let it all out, unable to rein in the free association (thankfully for us).

His story in organized in chapter-long vignettes centered around a particular topic. A fishing weekend in Montauk is the vessel on which he tells us about his father, a chapter on playing ball on the streets and in the sandlots is reminiscent of my own childhood doing those same things, his discovery of the Rolling Stones opens a window on his mother's depression. Excellent narrative structure.

Ed Burns must have had a blast drawing on his memories of his own family and his own upbringing in suburban Long Island in the 1970s. If you know him from his movies, you can hear his voice, no shyness in sight, overlaid on the inner monologue of a quiet kid waiting for the end of summer vacation, when his thirteenth birthday augurs an end to childhood.

I remember seeing Burns's debut film The Brothers McMullen, which unexpectedly propelled him to indie cinema celebrity, at a pre-release preview back in 1994 or 95. Loved it. His next couple of movies weren't as well received but I liked them, I liked his style. I lost track of his own efforts as writer-director since then. But I can hear his unique voice in this book just as I remember him from his early films.

I look forward to the ensuing entries in this series, reportedly a trilogy. I can't wait to see how this shy humble introspective middle class Irish-American suburban kid grows to help save Private Ryan and marry a world-famous supermodel. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reading copy.

Extraordinarily Ordinary

Ed Burns' book is fascinating in the sense it is the story I've known from every Irish Catholic family of the era.
It is inspiring that he shows a life like all others and yet he became a successful actor.

The sad part is the recipe he used does not reach this book.
Perhaps he'll offer a volume 2
But a well written insight into the life of families in era gone by.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of an Irish family circa 1970's told through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy. Soon to be 13, Kneenie is acutely aware that things are changing around him. Death has come, his older brother has changed as a teenager, his mother is fighting depression, and he figures he will change too, once he hits his teens.

There is a gentleness and nostalgic feeling as the boy tries to be there for his parents in a child's role. But he can feel the tug, the pulling away that will come. There are some pretty funny moments as well. The entire book which wasn't long, was filled with stories that were repeated often throughout the boy's life, something many of us can relate to.

As part one of a planned trilogy, the ending was both sweet and a set-up for things to come.

Thank you to Seven Stories Press for an advance readers copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for the ARC Seven Stories Press! Edwards Burns is a talented writer; it was interesting to get a glimpse into his childhood and the experience of growing up in a predominantly Irish neighborhood. He carefully peppers comedy into and out of heavy subject while giving a unique perspective. My only complaint is that the story ended without really going anywhere…

I am conflicted on this one. The story was Ok, but the writing was subpar. I should have known that a Hollywood icon does not know how to write a story without filling it with foul language. There was quite a bit of swearing in the story but resorting to the F-bomb? First of all, this is historical fiction and during the time period this was taking place the F-bomb was not in vogue as it seems to be today. But more importantly, this is a MIDDLE GRADE novel. What’s next? Will we begin seeing it in picture books? 2.5 out of 5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed emotions about this one. I loved Mr Burns movies, and this book reminded me of them. A lot. Which was great but something was missing. His movies (which you have to check them out) were filled with hope. And this book didn’t have that element in it. The main character discussed his summer when he turned 13. The problems with his parents and his older brother Tommy. Losing important relationships in his young life. What it meant to be Irish living in New York. Yet the ending was abrupt and incomplete. I didn’t get it. I was super bummed by the ending. Overall, it was a good book about a young teens turmoil summer vacation .
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my Arc in exchange for my review.

Thanks to Seven Stories Press and NetGalley for opportunity to read and review Edward Burns' 'A Kid from Marlboro Road.'

This is pitched as a novel but reads very much like a straightforward memoir of growing up in and Irish-American Catholic on Long Island in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Rooted in his grandfather's wake and funeral, a young Queens-born, Long Island-raised boy recounts his life through the lens of the last summer before he turns thirteen and becomes a teenager. It's very much a love-letter to a time that was by no means perfect but that holds a special place in the author's mind.

He's seen his seemingly perfect family fracturing - his grandfather dies, his beloved older brother is a moody and troublesome teenager who's coming home drunk, his mother seemingly unhappy all the time at the nature and pace of change, and his father who's - by turns - angry, sad, and distracted. Throughout that summer his life is one long series of trying to be all things to everyone in his life - his father, his mother, his grandparents, his friends, his neighbors - and in the process he's missing what should be a very happy time. He also lives in constant terror that the second the clock strikes midnight on his birthday that he'll instantly turn into his brother and he can't stand to be that person in relation to his mother and father.

Through the events of that summer we learn the family history going back a couple of generations and how an Irish-American childhood unfolded during the 70s and 80s. I know a lot of Irish-Americans of Edward Burns' age and I would say that it's a really fine capturing of what it was like to be an Irish-American kid growing up at the time - torn between the old country ways and the very different NY/American ways. Summers spent in the Rockaways or Breezy Point, close family ties and the tensions that emerge as the ties to Ireland and those off-the-boat relations' way of life begin to weaken and break.

Lovingly written with a strong sense of reality, poignancy, and a deep love for a people, place, and time.

⭐️⭐️/5. A Kid from Marlboro Road by Edward Burns. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advanced reader copy. I jumped at the chance to read a book by Ed Burns. I’ve always enjoyed his acting and let’s face it, he’s easy on the eyes. Alas, he should stick to his other job and enjoy being married to the gorgeous Christy Turlington. The setting is Long Island, NY in the 1970s. This book should have been a home run for me as I live literally 5 miles from Marlboro Road. It’s a meandering memoir of one summer as a 12 year old boy learns some hard lessons. It’s super specific to this area where I live. There are outings to Rockaway and Belmont Racetrack. There’s mention of Chaminade High School. Throughout the book, there’s references to the NY Irish-Catholic experience. Sadly, nothing ever really happened. There was no action to grab me and the ending was just dullsville. Skip it. #book #whatiread #bookstagram #reading #netgalley #bookgram #bookworm #edburns #longisland #goodreads #libbyapp

This is a cute story that reads more like The wonder years than a novel or memoir. I think my Irish background makes me appreciate it more than many honestly.