Boomer1

I enjoyed this a lot - just finished it now - at 3am- with no idea where it was headed.
Mark - Cassie - Julia - each have a voice in this fascinating- relevant and frightening look at people ‘my age’ - 60’s retirement age -
and my daughter’s age - mid 30’s -
and the contribution our grandparents made who came from the War—

It’s a terrific book ....lots to engage in — great storytelling. Themes - locations and daily life for these folks are tied together brilliantly:
- Jobs-
- who has them?
- who doesn’t?
- social security?
- insecurity?
- Education/ music/ girlband/ bandmates/ roommates/ lovers/relationships/success/ failure/ personal self worth/disappointments/ fear/ depression & loneliness/ hearing loss/ a marriage proposal turned down/ educated adult moving back home in parents basement/ East Coast..New York City/ West Coast... San Francisco...
...More surprises... with great characters to spend time with!!!!

This is a wonderful - very well written enjoyable novel. I must read Daniel Torday’s first novel. I have a copy of the hardcopy - and will look forward to it now for sure.

Highly recommended!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Daniel Torday! (Love the feeling of intimacy in your writing)

As one of the culpable Baby Boomers described in this story, I really enjoyed this book about the frustrations and trials for the millennial left in our wake. Always a subject worth debating that no one ever wins.
Mark tries so hard to succeed but fails miserably and embarrassingly at every turn. His friend (wish girlfriend) Cassie, on the other hand, is wildly successful in any venture she makes a small effort with. The perspective of Mark’s mother, Julia, adds another dimension to the personalities and perspectives.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can understand some, but not all of the frustration detailed in the lives of the youth.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for making it available.)

Today a college friend sent a screenshot on our ‘College Dude’ thread of his music app playing Daft Punk’s Around the World, one of our favorite songs from our days of drinking Natural Light. My ten friends on the thread live all across the country and work in a myriad of professions. We graduated from a West-Coast liberal arts college twenty years ago, and as a baby boomer, my father graduated from college twenty-five years prior. I was reading this book while I got the text, and it got me thinking about my friends, and what our challenges have been and will be compared to the prior generations: medicare, social security, global job markets, tech-changing industries… the list goes on.

Daniel Torday’s distinctly current novel Boomer1 focuses on characters who like some of my friends are trying and failing to find success in traditional American ventures in the new millenium. Torday switches the point of view between three main characters. From music to marriage to journalism, Mark tries to find success in New York City, but either the game has changed or there just isn’t room for him in a narrowing profession. Cassie joins a punk band only to have them split on her, but finds a friend and bandmate in bluegrass-playing Mark. And Mark’s mom Julia was once a burgeoning member of the 1960s counterculture music scene, but fell into a life she never thought she’d have.

As the story moves forward, Cassie is able to find success in the new journalism scene putting together “advertorials,” but Mark fully rejects his NYC life and moves back into the basement of his boyhood home. His anger metamorphosizes into an online alter ego by the name of Isaac Abramson and the handle Boomer1. He produces “Boomer Missives,” which spurs a movement of anarchy in the face of the generation who took the spoils of the post-war boom. With his infamy, Mark wonders what he has unleashed as he experiences the freedom of the anonymity of the internet.

Torday’s novel speaks directly to a certain audience; the music and cultural references that are nostalgic, but not overly sentimental. While the novel may have a slow start, the narrative hits its stride after a couple chapters, and the last hundred pages hold some of the best writing I’ve read all year. There were some problems with inconsistent language, which can even be slightly inflated at times. I assume this was an effort to vary the different character’s points of views, but it came across as unbalanced. The multiple points of view work well, especially when they slightly overlap and the reader experiences the same plot points through a different lense.

Daniel Torday’s Boomer1 is a very good novel that focuses on what people do to maintain relationships and to stick to their ideals, even in the face of hypocrisy. Even with some flaws, Torday’s ideas are genuine and hold important questions for the current generation. I enjoyed Boomer1 and will definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Daniel Torday for the advanced copy for review.

Wow. I didn't know what to expect, but this novel was intense. You could feel the frustration of the Boomer Boomers in Mark's sections. Very interesting take on the millennial vs. baby boomer generations. Definitely an interesting read that makes you think.

This book was very thought provoking for me as I am a “boomer”. I loved the story from all character perspectives. The age and generation battles are true to life. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me an ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for my candid review.

Wow! Tough book to review.

I actually hated the book at first because it was an unadulterated attack on Baby Boomers and all that they have accomplished. And a call to arms for them to all retire, so that Millenials can take the good jobs.
At that point in the book---I wanted to rip through the pages and smack the sh%& out of the characters for being whiney babies and not understanding that nothing was handed to the Baby Boomers---we worked hard for it.

But then it started to point out some of the crazy social, technological, and societal things that the Millenials are doing. And so it became a reflection on the struggles from both generations. And the practical decisions that were made by some of the most idealistic and artistic members of each generation have and are making.

It pointed out the scope and the influence that instant information technology can have---both for good and for very bad. One line resonated with me...."Technology was addictive when it was working, but when technology wasn't working, it was more addictive than heroin."

So, it would be a great book for Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials all to read. It actually became very thought-provoking when the whole story unfolded.

I would give this book high marks. Read it--it will make you think about society's evolution.