Leaving Pico (Hardscrabble Books-fiction of New England)

By Frank X. Gaspar

Book Overview

Winner of the Barnes and Noble Discovery PrizeWinner of the California Book Award for First FictionA New York Times Notable BookIn the insular Portuguese fishing community of Provincetown, Josie... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584651350
• ISBN13: 9781584651352
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Univ Pr of New England
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

An AMERICAN story

"Leaving Pico" is more than just the coming of age story of a young, second generation Portuguese immigrant boy. It is a desperately needed fresh look at the story of America. No judgement call here. Just the real inside stuff that can't be found on a map. The heart of this country and what makes her swagger. Displaced characters, fully realized in the author's capable hands, trying to catch a toe hold on some reason to raise their heads up when they are well beyond down. And surviving, growing more confident with each generation, learning the new tricks for adaptation. Yes folks, the AMERICAN novel IS alive and lives without shame in this amazing first novel by this poetic American voice. Buy it, read it, and put your name on it before you lend it out!

Leaving Pico

This book is a beauty -- the mix of realistic background and almost surreal imagination is both energetic and emotionally satisfying. The portrait of the Portuguese community in Provincetown during the 50's rings true -- resounds in fact for anyone who loves the place -- while the boy's need for connection and release find their match in the wild, loving, untameable mind of the grandfather. I love this book.

SUPERB story by a Provincetown Native

The story of Josie's coming of age in Provincetown in the late 40's, is bound to become a classic. This is a book that is hard to put down. Although the grandfather's story of the ancestor gets a little long in detail; what really interested me was the telling of the everyday life of the Picos living in the Provincetown community.As a visitor & part-time resident of Provincetown for the past 23 years, it was a pleasure to finally read a book about the true natives of Provincetown. Thank you, Frank Gaspar and we hope there is more to come.

A wonderful read, scenically presented.

This is a book of rich detail well integrated in a narrative involving an area that is foreign to most of us. In this day and age of bare bones writing, this represents a wonderfully woven tapestry of a young boy's life and times. The story has a rich patina of characters, events, the ocean and life in a fishing village

One of the best novels of the year.

Frank Gaspar's Leaving Pico is not only one of the best coming of age stories one will read, but certainly one of the best novels to come along in quite some time. Gaspar renders the Pico community and this novel's family in terms that make the reader embrace them, and John Joseph's discovery mythology, with a willing suspension of disbelief and a strong measure of affection. If it doesn't become a movie, someone is missing the boat. In short, this is a wonderful book, deserving of all the praise it gets, and deserving, most likely, more attention than it will get.