Life on the Bolotomy
By Eric Kraft
1986
First Published
4.67
Average Rating
76
Number of Pages
Peter Leroy recalls a childhood journey of discovery that he made from the mouth of the Bolotomy River to its source, traveling with his best (and imaginary) friend Rodney “Raskol” Lodkochnikov. The journey begins with the work of turning a packing case (which Cap’n Andrew Leech intends to use, later, as a coffin) into a shallow-draft boat, it involves encounters with a philosophical vagrant and a gaggle of beautiful nymphs, and it ends with the metaphor of life as a river turned on its head. "Life on the Bolotomy concerns the river journey of Peter and his chum Raskolnikov to the source of the Bolotomy River—a riotous inversion of both Thoreau's Merrimack expedition and Huck ’n’ Jim's Mississippi quest" John Stark Bellamy II, Cleveland Plain Dealer “The cumulative effect of Kraft’s work is of a sober humor that refuses easy answers... This is crafty work indeed and certain to endure when more pretentious and more touted writers are forgotten.” Bob Williams, The Compulsive Reader “Reading the Peter Leroy saga is akin to watching a champion juggler deftly keep dozens of balls in the air while executing an intricate double-time dance routine—all without breathing hard... Sentimental, loving, raucous, wise, and great fun, this is simply not to be missed.” Booklist “[Kraft’s Peter Leroy] series is smart, funny, warmly inviting, and delightfully impossible to define.” Kate Bernheimer, The Oregonian “Eric Kraft’s essential subject is suburban boyhood—in particular, that moment when it loses its innocence... Like Lawrence Sterne, Kraft is unashamedly sentimental, digressive, and extremely funny; like Proust, profoundly nostalgic and obsessed with loss. The typical Kraft novel is a laugh-out-loud read with undertones of grief and ruefulness. Almost all of his books revolve around a single individual, Peter Leroy, who is now . . . as fully realized as any character in current American literature... Under the surface humor, Kraft’s take on the national experience is thoughtful, disturbing, and unlike that of any other American writer.” Anthony Brandt, Men’s Journal novella, approximately 20,000 words, 96 pages in the trade paperback edition
Avg Rating
4.67
Number of Ratings
12
5 STARS
67%
4 STARS
33%
3 STARS
0%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
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goodreads
Author
Eric Kraft
Author · 16 books
Eric Kraft grew up in Babylon, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island, where he was for a time co-owner and co-captain of a clam boat, which sank. He met or invented the character Peter Leroy while dozing over a German lesson during his first year at Harvard. The following year, he married his muse, Madeline Canning; they have two sons. After earning a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Kraft taught school in the Boston area for a while, moonlighting as a rock music critic for the Boston Phoenix. Since then, he has undertaken a variety of hackwork to support the Kraft ménage and the writing of the voluminous work of fiction that he calls The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy. He has been the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts; was, briefly, chairman of PEN New England; and has been awarded the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature.
