Michael's
Place
When a clean-cut, relatively innocent adolescent from the Jewish neighborhood of Northeast Philly and an Italian, meth-mainlining, fatherless, petty criminal from South Philly befriend each other in the seething, gang-riddled Black and Puerto Rican cauldron that was Strawberry Mansion in 1978, a type of social science experiment ensues.
about the author
Gerald Myers
I am a recently retired physician, a Philadelphia native, practicing in Pittsburgh for over 21 years, and now relocated to Colorado in 2003. Although continuing my occupation as a full-time cardiologist in this new location, my passion for creative writing, which began during childhood and blossomed at Pitt as the school newspaper’s sports editor, came to fruition with the publication of my first novel, Muted Colors in the spring of 2001. Eight years later, this critically acclaimed work was adapted into a suspenseful screenplay under the title Heart of Rose.
In the interim and since I have gone on to pen five other works of fiction, including two coming of age novels, The Other Side of Innocence and Michael’s Place, an historical thriller, Lethal Legacy, a psychological thriller, The Song of the Siren and most recently, a very personal fictionalized memoir, The Flight of the Peacock.
As a proud member of the Baby Boomer generation and my wife, Renee, I now reside in Edwards, Colorado, where I enjoy biking and hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. I’m currently teaching myself to play the piano and plan on publishing a book of short stories in the next few months.
about the book
Michael's Place
When a clean-cut, relatively innocent adolescent from the Jewish neighborhood of Northeast Philly and an Italian, meth-mainlining, fatherless, petty criminal from South Philly befriend each other in the seething, gang-riddled Black and Puerto Rican cauldron that was Strawberry Mansion in 1978, a type of social science experiment ensues. Will the structured, family-oriented appeal of the Jewish boy’s grandparents’ home and values provide the street urchin with the stability he craves? Or will the allure of illicit adventure, the taste of young love, and the loss of virginity taint the adolescent’s wholesomeness?
This is the tale played out in the novel, where the bond of friendship is strained to its breaking point by the likes of thievery, dealing illegal drugs, sex, deceit, and finally, a gruesome murder. Then, decades later, when the friendship has a chance to rekindle itself after the players have grown, matured, and morphed into what appears to be fundamental differences, what form will their new relationship take? How will the bond reforge? And can the balm of the present mitigate the wounds of the past? These are the questions confronted and eventually reconciled in the coming of age novel, Michael’s Place.
about the book
Michael's Place
When a clean-cut, relatively innocent adolescent from the Jewish neighborhood of Northeast Philly and an Italian, meth-mainlining, fatherless, petty criminal from South Philly befriend each other in the seething, gang-riddled Black and Puerto Rican cauldron that was Strawberry Mansion in 1978, a type of social science experiment ensues. Will the structured, family-oriented appeal of the Jewish boy’s grandparents’ home and values provide the street urchin with the stability he craves? Or will the allure of illicit adventure, the taste of young love, and the loss of virginity taint the adolescent’s wholesomeness?
This is the tale played out in the novel, where the bond of friendship is strained to its breaking point by the likes of thievery, dealing illegal drugs, sex, deceit, and finally, a gruesome murder. Then, decades later, when the friendship has a chance to rekindle itself after the players have grown, matured, and morphed into what appears to be fundamental differences, what form will their new relationship take? How will the bond reforge? And can the balm of the present mitigate the wounds of the past? These are the questions confronted and eventually reconciled in the coming of age novel, Michael’s Place.
PACIFIC BOOK REVIEWS
Michael’s Place
One of the most important relationships that a person can make within their lives has to be that of a friendship. A true friendship is never perfect, and can oftentimes be fraught with disagreements and falling outs over the years. However, the best friendships have found a way to overcome these failings and stick together, forming a bond that is as close to family as one can get. As Lucius Annaeus Seneca once said, “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.”
In author Gerald Myers novel Michael’s Place, the author revisits his acclaimed book The Frame, under the title originally written by the author. Exploring the concept of friendship, betrayal and renewal, the story focuses on two friends who reconnect nearly two decades after a terrible event tore them apart. Coming from two different worlds, the friends must come together not only to rekindle their friendship but find justice for a lost love that led to the end of their friendship all those years ago.
A brilliant revisit of a classic novel of the author’s work, Michael’s Place really does an incredible job of balancing the themes of friendship and the bonds we share with one another. The character development is the key to this incredibly moving and powerful novel, as the bond between Michael and Marc explores both the subtle and obvious nuances of their relationship – both in the past and the present. The very different paths the two men walked highlights the very real question of whether two people of different circumstances in life can still make a friendship work. The emotional and philosophical storytelling this brings up makes this a truly engaging read.
us review of books
Michael’s Place
“…his thoughts drifted back to Michael, to Shiona, and to that indolent summer at his grandparents’ house on Thirty-fourth Street. These were the images that relentlessly tormented his soul.”
A coming-of-age story about one troubling summer in 1978, Myers’ thriller is set in North Philly and framed against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. His tale centers on two teens, Marc and Michael, and begins in 1993. Marc is on a new health kick after his father’s recent heart attack scare. He runs (literally) into his former friend, Michael, whom he doesn’t recognize at first. This chance encounter brings back a flood of memories of one particular summer that has never left Marc.
The narrative shifts back to 1978, where a fifteen-year-old Marc is engaged in a neighborhood game of softball. His best friend, Michael, is strangely absent but later reveals where he’s been when he suddenly reappears to aid Marc in a sticky situation. The good-natured Marc is a writer who loves reading adventure stories. His grandparents fondly refer to him by his Jewish name, Moshe. On the other hand, Michael is Catholic and a risk-taker who’s a bit of a daredevil. He’s also tormented by the loss of his brother, Tony, killed in Vietnam. Both boys deal with the usual trappings of teenage life: home, school, bullies, and adolescent love. But nothing really prepares them for what happens during the course of that fateful summer.
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