You Can Say You Knew Me When

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="57fa77d0.jpg" border=0 width="167" height="125" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <A HREF="news_and_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News Events">News & Events</A></div> <div> <A HREF="novels__short_stories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings">Writings</A></div> <div> <A HREF="order_books.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Order Books">Order Books</A></div> <div> <A HREF="blog.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Blog">Blog</A></div> <div> <A HREF="press_room.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Press Room">Press Room</A></div> <div> <A HREF="contact_the_author.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact the Author">Contact the Author</A></div> <div> <A HREF="forum__chat.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forum">Forum</A></div> <div> <A HREF="art_gallery.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Art Gallery">Art Gallery</A></div> <div> <A HREF="resources_and_links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Resources and Links">Resources and Links</A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Courier New" ><B>Josh Aterovis</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Josh Aterovis">home</A>     <A HREF="book_reviews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Reviews">Book Reviews</A></div> <div> <A HREF="boy_meets_boy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boy Meets Boy">Boy Meets Boy</A>   ·   <A HREF="christopher.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christopher">Christopher</A>   ·   <A HREF="fatal_shadows.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fatal Shadows">Fatal Shadows</A>   ·   <A HREF="from_the_ashes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From the Ashes">From the Ashes</A>   ·   <A HREF="geography_club.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Geography Club">Geography Club</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_house_beautiful.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The House Beautiful">The House Beautiful</A>   ·   <A HREF="spare_parts.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hot Sauce">Hot Sauce</A>   ·   <A HREF="how_i_paid_for_college.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How I Paid For College">How I Paid For College</A>   ·   <A HREF="lust.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lust">Lust</A>   ·   <A HREF="one_picking_fruit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On Picking Fruit">On Picking Fruit</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_order_of_the_poison_oak.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Order of the Poison Oak">The Order of the Poison Oak</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_phoenix.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Phoenix">The Phoenix</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_protector.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Protector">The Protector</A>   ·   <A HREF="id623.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Rest Is Illusion">The Rest Is Illusion</A>   ·   <A HREF="spare_parts287.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spare Parts">Spare Parts</A>   ·   <A HREF="stepping_out.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stepping Out">Stepping Out</A>   ·   <A HREF="subsurdity.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Subsurdity">Subsurdity</A>   ·   <A HREF="the_trouble_boy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Trouble Boy">The Trouble Boy</A>   ·   <B>You Can Say You Knew Me When</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>You Can Say You Knew Me When</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3d4ba050.gif" border=0 width="442" height="5" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="629c8260.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="294" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0">Author:</B> K.M. Soehnlein</div> <div> <B>ISBN:</B> 0-7582-0798-0</div> <bR> <div> Jamie Garner is returning to his hometown in New Jersey for the first time in years. The occasion is his estranged father's funeral. His father could never accept the fact that Jamie was gay, and this haunts every facet of Jamie's life back in San Francisco at the height of the dot.com bubble. Jamie's long absence has created tension between him and his relatives, even his once-close sister Deirdre. Jamie is wondering why he even bothered coming back when he stumbles across a box of old memories from his father's youth -- a year spent in "Frisco" as a Beatnik...and a photograph of a beautiful young man mysteriously signed "You can say you knew me when."</div> <bR> <div> Jamie becomes obsessed with piecing together the events of his father's life in San Francisco so many years ago. Was his father gay? Why did he have so many gay friends then but totally reject his son years later? And why would he never speak of his year in San Francisco? Jamie hunts down and interviews people mentioned in his father's letters and journal, he visits the places his father visited, he reads the books his father read, but the man in the photograph remains tantalizingly out of reach. </div> <bR> <div> As Jamie's obsession grows, his life begins to fall apart. He starts using drugs more and more, he completely neglects his work, and he even starts cheating on Woody, his steady boyfriend. Can Jamie find what he's looking for in his father's life before he destroys his own?</div> <bR> <div> <I>You Can Say You Knew Me When</I> is author K.M. Soehnlein's second novel, following his well-received <I>The World of Normal Boys</I>. His second offering is a very grown-up story. There is considerable recreational drug use as well as unprotected sex. It's also well-told and beautifully written. Even though for much of the book I found myself wanting to slap some sense into Jamie, I couldn't help relating to him and recognizing bits of myself in him. I found myself rooting for him to get himself together. He's a very three-dimensional, realistic protagonist. </div> <bR> <div> All of the characters are well-drawn. There is a full cast of vivid secondary characters. There's Woody, Jamie's boyfriend who is so immersed in his dot.com enterprise that he's spending less and less time with Jamie. There's Jamie's sister Deirdre, prematurely aged and weighed down from the responsibility of caring for her husband, son, dying father, and failing grandmother. There's Ian, Jamie's best friend who is always there to give advice, even if it may not be what's best for Jamie. There's even a rich third layer of characters, from Jed, Jamie's boy-toy fling to Jamie's philandering, yet charming cousin Tommy. And we can't forget Dean Foster, AKA Danny Ficchino, the elusive B-movie star from the photograph.</div> <bR> <div> Soehnlein has proven himself a versatile and talented author. <I>You Can Say You Knew Me When </I>is a powerful story of self-destruction and obsession -- and the redemptive power of love and acceptance. By the time you turn the last page, you'll feel as if you know these people intimately, and you'll be glad you met them. </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>