Reappearance of Sam Webber - Hardcover

Fuqua, Jonathon Scott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1890862029 ISBN 13: 9781890862022

Publisher: Bancroft Press, 1999

Synopsis

When eleven-year-old Sam Webber's father disappears without a trace, he and his mother are forced to relocate to a tough neighborhood, closer to her job. Unfamiliar with his surroundings and intimidated by the students of his new school, Sam recounts the sometimes frightening, sometimes delightful details of his life with touching, humorous sincerity. Living in a tiny apartment, he is forced to deal with the legacy of depression that marked his father, and threatens to envelop him. The city remains a cold and unwelcoming place to Sam until he meets Greely, an elderly black janitor at his junior high. Through this unlikely friendship, Sam begins to heal, as well as confront the racism that surrounds his community, and his life. Tracing a year in the life of an exceptional young boy, newcomer Jonathon Scott Fuqua leaves an impression that endures like a watermark. A masterfully written novel full of beautifully drawn, unforgettable characters, The Reappearance of Sam Webber is only the first from a top writer whose talented storytelling will touch every reader.

About this title

From the Publisher

Another "To Kill A Mockingbird"?
This ADVANCE PRAISE makes me proud to publish Jonathon Scott Fuqua AND The Re-Appearance of Sam Webber

"Jonathon Scott Fuqua has a wonderfully detailed and affectionate knowledge of Baltimore, its culture and communities, here expressed in both picture and story. A Bildungsroman with a bittersweet twist, The Re-Appearance of Sam Webber is the sort of novel that can be called 'heartwarming' without irony." --MADISON SMARTT BELL, AUTHOR OF ALL SOULS RISING AND TEN INDIANS

"A year in the life of a Baltimore boy provides the basis for a formidable portrait of urban American life...A warming exploration..." --KIRKUS REVIEWS

"This debut novel...addresses prejudice and overcoming urban fears...The characters present a realistic picture of the trials in a single-parent family...Highly recommended not only for adults and educators but for teenagers living in urban areas." --LIBRARY JOURNAL

"A white 11-year-old becomes fast friends with a black janitor and learns about racism, loss, grief, forgiveness and the landscape of Baltimore in this heartfelt ... debut...Fuqua...has a sensitive understanding of the shaky emotional terrain of preadolescence, and he displays a good ear for dialogue and an intimate feel for Baltimore's rowhouses, creaky buses, and broad sidewalks..." --PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

"Sharing football in the park and lunches in the school cafeteria, their [Sam and Greely's] relationship fills a void in Sam's life. As their friendship develops, it also becomes obvious that Greely needs Sam as much as Sam needs Greely ... A slow-paced story, filled with expertly detailed descriptions of Baltimore and well-drawn characters." --BOOKLIST

"Besides being an extraordinarily warm and engaging novel, The Re-Appearance of Sam Webber is, in its own understated way, one of the most vivid accounts of depression and its intergenerational effects. I will recommend it to friends and family, colleagues and patients, as a tale of the power of resilience to stand up to it all." --DANIEL L. BUCCINO, M.A., M.S.W., CO-DIRECTOR, THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON BRIEF THERAPY INSTITUTE

"Sam captured me on page one. Spending a year in his life and watching him build a new family was a great experience. Fuqua communicates beautifully the landscape of Baltimore as well as of a young boy in turmoil." --NANCY MAGNUSON, LIBRARIAN, GOUCHER COLLEGE

"Sam, the eleven-year-old protagonist of this fine first novel, has a loving mother who has loyal friends, and he finds a protector at school. And just these few relationships prove to be an entire village that raises this child...I wish Fuqua had written a longer book! He has re-created life in eighties Baltimore...It's a Bawlamer book, Hon-and Sam Webber is going to be a winner!" --MARY S. DAGOLD, LIBRARIAN, EDITH HAMILTON LIBRARY, THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL

From the Author

Author on His Novel and the Rampage in Littleton
I am always hesitant to associate my work with current events. I write stories that take years, that deal with questions and ideas I confront on a daily basis. For that reason, writing, for me, is an act similar to bricklaying. Regardless, I have always hoped and believed that my stories might touch and affect people in an emotional, timely level. I’ve attempted to achieve this by delving deeply into issues that I have personal experience with, primarily the effects of detachment, and the role of family and friends in dealing with pain—in grasping and holding to small salvation.

For this reason, I have been overwhelmed and thankful that my novel, The Re-Appearance of Sam Webber, has struck a nerve with so many readers in the wake of yet another teenage rampage. Having experienced the terrible, numbing sensation of adult and childhood depression, I have always told people suffering the illness, that, once healed, it is their responsibility to help others tormented similarly, to extend a hand. I’ve tried to live by this rule; it is the way true communities work. And those vital interactions are the crux of my book about a suffering adolescent and the people who swarm to his aid, who carry, cajole, and discuss before he is overwhelmed.

Over the last week, many people have written and phoned me to say that this is the kind of communal response necessary to disrupt or hopefully avert national nightmares like the one that took place in Littleton, Colorado. That seems a stretch to me, for no matter what is done, people in our society will do things that make no sense. Still, it is impossible to argue the importance of an attentive parent, guardian, or friend when a person is depressed, angry, or confused. This is not to say that the "talking cure" is the answer. For some, it is only a brick on the path to a myriad of possible solutions. It is a way to begin, to become aware of what an individual is feeling, seeing, and experiencing.

If my book could achieve one result, I would want that to be the simple initiation of conversation between those in pain and the people around them. And now it seems that, on a small level, it has done so. For that, I am an incredibly grateful writer. No one should suffer in silence. No one within a community should endure alone when people they see daily can open their ears and minds, can listen and hear—and maybe save.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bancroft Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1890862029
• ISBN 13: 9781890862022
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 237