HARDPAN

About the Book

Viking Press Reader’s Report: “Lloyd Van Brunt’s manuscript, HARDPAN, A Childhood, is a beautifully written account of a young boy growing up and facing hardships and abuse at the hands of corrupt authoritarian figures, both in his home and at the institution to which he is sent.  The memoir provides for a cathartic experience: readers may feel pity and admiration for Lloyd, the central character, and disdain for those who fail him as adults that are supposed to take care of him,  his sisters and fellow orphans.  Lloyd is a likeable and intelligent young man who seems to make the best of, what are sometimes awful, circumstances.  He is quite mature and reasonable for his age.  His relationships with Jack and Sarah prove that he appreciates true friends, although he does abandon them for Marlene and her crowd, all the while predicting his inevitable descent from popularity, interestingly enough.

It is apparent that Van Brunt may have written may have written this book as a form of therapy or closure.  He takes readers inside his head and allows them to visit his childhood through the inviting narrative.  We almost feel what Lloyd feels--disgust for Threllkell, hatred for Charlie--and appreciate the simple things that make him happy, such as Mrs.  Phelps-Dodge’s library and his bicycle.  Lloyd, despite his anger and bitterness about his underprivileged” life, manages to stay focussed on the important, tangible aspects of his life: a good education, his mother (regardless of their past differences), hobbies and his friends.  Although he fantasizes about revenge, he uses his energy constructively through boxing and music lessons and reading.

This text is suitable for any type of reader, mainly because Van Brunt writes about a period in life with which anyone can identify--adolescence.  Most of us have experienced the same awkwardness and social pressure that Van Brunt recalls.  What makes the material so powerful are also the experiences that many of us cannot identify and Lloyd’s strength to overcome them.  Certainly the resolution may provide closure for him when his stepfather is hauled off to prison for molesting Lloyd’s sister and when he takes the opportunity to expose Threllkell of her escapades with the boys at the home to Mrs.  Phelps-Dodge.

This is not just a memoir of childhood, but a story of survival, determination and fierce integrity, none of which the author “skimped”on during his time at the home.  This is a touching piece of work that reminds readers of how precious children are at any age and how they need protection and nurturing in order to preserve the innocence that is inherently there.

The novel [memoir] has definite selling points among which is its easy yet powerful narrative.  Van Brunt’s honest and compelling voice draw the reader into the story.  He is a wonderful storyteller.  Since the book is easy to follow it might even be marketable as young adult in addition to adult non-fiction.  It is flexible enough, perhaps, to be used in high school and college level English courses.  Again, the novel [memoir] might do well in the hands of readers the same age as the central character and definitely older.  Certainly, the book is marketable to those who also have experiences abuse during childhood (whether or not this group is considered a market is a different story).  In addition to the above mentioned selling point[s], Van Brunt’s manuscript evokes certain emotions in readers that only a successfully moving novel can do: empathy, anger and joy are just a few. Essentially, this is a novel[memoir] with great sales potential and probably a large, varied readership due to its honest tone and the subject itself.

About the Author

Lloyd Van Brunt is the author of seven books of poems, including two published by Carnegie-Mellon University Press and four by The Smith. His prose has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Natural History, The New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor and many other publications. Two chapters from HARDPAN, A Childhood appeared in the Magazine of The New York Times, and Van Brunt was twice a guest on the NPR show, FRESH AIR, discussing with host Terry Gross the issues of child abuse and children’s rights. A first reader at Viking Press wrote: “The [book] has definite selling points among which is its easy yet powerful narrative...He is a wonderful storyteller.”