Customer Reviews

The Coalwood Way: A Memoir

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How many wonderful works of literature were we denied by Homer Hickam (not Hickham or Hickman) going into Industrial Engineering?

This is the type of book that makes you yearn for the simpler, more innocent times of your childhood, no matter when you grew up. Something in each of us can identify with the antics of the Rocket Boys.

I sure hope that Mr. Hickam continues to write more wonderful books such as this one and all his other works.

Written by the same author of October Sky, about the same period in his childhood, the COALWOOD WAY and OCTOBER SKY cover the exact same themes-a son trying to shine despite the disappointment/disapproval of his father, rocket trial and error, etc-and have the exact same arcs. Minor characters and sub plots are different, however, and are very poignant and engaging.The protagonist, Sonny is an earnest boy with enough flaws to make him interesting. He is smart yet a little too proud; a friend but sometimes too self-centered to see when his closest friends are in trouble; he's handsome yet can't get a date to the senior dance. These imperfections make him the perfect Everyman, easy to root for. Minor characters are well drawn, and some are heartbreaking to watch. Dreama's tragic arc is painful but gives the story a darkness and depth. Her ostracization by town snobs is well-depicted, and shows that the author didn't just sail through his childhood without noticing the little evils that men do. Great read.

This is not to the same level of The Rocket Boys, which is a story much better told. However, The Coalwood Way is an interesting read, especially for those who truly liked The Rocket Boys.

For one thing, i was a bit disappointed about the author's foreword. He swears that even though the events in the book passed so long ago (1959), he remembers everything in tremendous detail. If he hadn't said that, i wouldn't have even thought about it. As a person with very bad memory, i don't believe him.

Some of the characters are described to a point that they almost seem caricatures. I couldn't help think of Martin on The Simpsons when reading about Quentin. Roy Lee reminded me of Elvis Presley in one of his cheesy movies.

The memoir almost redeemed itself in page 267 (chapter 27), when Sonny finally realizes what has been bugging him all along (here's something i wish i had done: jot down the items on Sonny's list as you read along). That discovery makes the book worthwhile. However, the memoir ends with the Christmas Pageant, and that image really ruined the moment for me.

Aimlessly wandering the fiction aisles of the library, glumly looking over the "been-there-done-that" Grisham novels, wishfully scanning the Hiaasen section in slim hopes of finding something new, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught a name on a book spine: Homer H. Hickam Jr. I instantly recognized the name as a character from one of my all-time favorite movies, "October Sky". I pulled the book, expecting it to be "Rocket Boys", the memoir on which the movie was based. I had always meant to pick up that book and get more familiar with the story that so captivated me in the movie. Only, the title of this book was "The Coalwood Way". Instantly, I knew that my browsing malaise was cured (funny how that often works)!

Not only did I now have a chance to get more familiar with the "Rocket Boys" story and characters, but I also had a whole other novel with which to do it. For, you see, this memoir isn't really a sequel to the aforementioned book, but actually an expansion of a section of the original story; a kind of story within a story. Think of it as zooming in on just one section of a fractal image to see all of the intricate details within the new image.

The scope of the first memoir was pretty much the entire high school career of Homer (Sonny) and the Rocket Boys and focused predominantly on their exploits with amateur rocketry. But, the real charm of the original story came from the background setting and people of Coalwood, West (by God) Virginia. The boys of the Big Creek Missile Agency (BCMA) still play a big part in this story that spans basically only one year of high school from roughly Christmas of their junior year through Christmas of their senior year. However, this time around, rocketry plays second fiddle as we delve much deeper into the lush background and learn more about Sonny's deep roots in Coalwood and how really fortunate (and bittersweet) it was that he and the rest of the boys of the BCMA could escape that life.

Having seen the movie first, I found myself constantly imposing the images of the actors onto the characters in the book, which wasn't always such a bad thing since all of the characters in the movie were wonderfully cast. The only time this was a problem was with the group of boys, which in the movie numbered four, but in the book numbered six! It seems that possibly as many as three characters in the books, Sherman, O'Dell and Billy, were all "merged" into one character, Sherman O'Dell, in the movie. Not much of a problem, though, as Hickam's eloquent prose quickly conjured up images for all six young men.

In this story, the town of Coalwood really comes alive. I instantly felt like I could have grown up there myself and maybe, in a way, I did. Hickam has an uncanny ability to touch the heartstrings of just about any American man (and possibly woman as well) who grew up in and around that time period, regardless of geographic location. We all have either shared a common anecdote or experienced an unrequited, adolescent love like he describes in his books (I was just crushed when Ginger told him that they would just be great friends). The ending of this book did seem a bit sappy and contrived but, darn it, I felt like it really needed to have a storybook ending. The beleaguered folks of Coalwood deserved one, even if it probably didn't actually happen exactly like that (i.e. historical fiction).

I immensely enjoyed this book. So much so, that I have since gone back and read the original "Rocket Boys" and then skipped forward to read the third book in the series "Sky of Stone". I'll probably also buy his non-fiction book "Torpedo Junction" and his true fiction novel "Back to the Moon". But, this is the one that started it for me. I think I have found another favorite author!

There is something about Mr. Hickam's writing that draws you in immediately. It seems that each and every word that he writes is meaningful not just as a word in a sentence, but in the overall context of the novel. It is almost like poetry, but a kind of no-frills, down-to-earth poetry.
But it is not really the words that you recognize when you read the novel. It is more the way he tells you the story, the patient, completely trusting way that you learn about him. He writes this book for the whole world to see, and you get the feeling that he bares his soul and trusts you completely. It is this trusting ability that he imparts that is so compelling about his works because although he is a great writer and shaper of phrases, it is ultimately his voice, even more than his message, which will keep you focused in the novel. Moreover, he has a gift of being able to impart whatever feelings he has at the moment onto the page, and in doing so, puts you into his world.
This novel has been called an equal of Rocket Boys, but I think that in some ways, this novel is even better. It focuses more on the people of the town instead of showing Mr. Hickam's childhood. I also find this novel more honest and realistic of the his life. There are parts in Rocket Boys where you don't get the full story and which are covered in this book. These parts may not be the wonderful, life-always-turns-out-great kind of stories, but that's life. I think that the idea that life's not always fair, but you do what you can is conveyed even more clearly in this novel than in Rocket Boys.
Having said all this though, I must admit that I like Rocket Boys more. It is not that this book is written more poorly (no, on the contrary, this book feels more mature), but simply because I enjoyed the details of Mr. Hickams early forays into the world of rocketry in that earlier book. However, The Coalwood Way is most certainly my second favorite book and I would recommend everyone to read this fascinating memoir.

Brilliant, I took me only 2 days to finish this book, a great book to follow Rocket Boys (aka October Sky). Hickam is amazing, he can take you there to Coalwood and do what many cannot, really make you feel the emotions and story he is telling, it reads like a fiction novel, but it is his memoirs and very few writers can accomplish with fictional works what he has with this series of books. I hope he keeps writing, I cannot wait to sample his Back to the Moon (fiction) also.

I love Christmas stories and this is one of the best ever written. It is the only Christmas book that has made me truly appreciate the miracles that can only happen at Christmas. Highly recommended!

The Coalwood Way, by Homer Hickam, is the sequel to October Sky. It is 1959 and the
Rocket Boys are still making their handmade rockets. Homer "Sonny" Hickam is trying to
prove to his father that he will go to college and succeed. Although with the mine not
doing very well, it does not look like any of the Coalwood children will get very far in life.
A lot of the miners have lost their jobs and Sonny's father has to make some dangerous
decisions about what to do to keep the town and the mine from going poor. Sonny's
mother feels cut off from her husband and the townspeople. Her role as the
superintendent's wife makes things difficult with the wives of the union workers.
In the bleak, cold winter months optimism is hard to come by in Coalwood. Sonny
is overcome with a sense of gloom and trys desperately to figure out what is causing it.
When Coalwood is in need of some spirt-lifting, Sonny and his friends bring back the spirit
of Christmas just in time.
Hickam's story brings the characters from his childhood to life in a touching tale
that provokes the mood of the mid-twentieth century. Sonny learns many things about his
brother and his parents throughout the story. His father is a workaholic who feels
responsible and inadequate, and his mother is very intelligent and perceptive who feels
isolated from her whole family. Sonny moves from childhood to adulthood in a few short
months as Coalwood changes in many different ways. The story reminds us of the
importance of keeping our dreams and not letting little things or big things change them.
It also remids us that growing up is hard, yet possible. If we stay together with our friends
and family and we we pray and learn to live together, then we can get through anything.

This book is not about rockets. But then, neither was Rocket Boys, when you think about it. Rockets happen to be the glue that held the vignettes in the first story together, but it's so much more than that. It is a memoir in the truest sense of the word, getting you into Sonny's skin and letting you see and feel the world, in all its coldness and warmth, through his eyes.

This book is even more a series of vignettes than the first one, because some of the stories seem to stand almost on their own, ala James Herriot. But it is a deeper, more moving and more relentlessly heartbreaking read than Rocket Boys, because Sonny is experiencing some really tough times. Anyone who has a long-dead father they are still trying to please (I don't, so can't empathize as much) will be crying as they read this book.

But I say this in a good way. The same warmth is still there, and even when it is not, when he feels cold toward the world or misses an opportunity, Sonny beats himself over the head, so you don't have to.

All of Homer's books are too good to miss, and this one is no exception.

The book The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam is an excellent read. Out of a five scale rating, I give it a five. It was truly, an incredible book. Memoirs are very hard pieces to write and Homer Hickam did an outstanding way of helping the reader know what it was like growing up in a town during the 1950's and 1960's. Another reason a rated this book a five out of five was that he has first-rate description. He describes incidents that happened over forty years ago almost flawlessly. "A serious little rocket (Auk XXII-E), it began its journey with a mighty spout of flame and turmoil and its shock wave rattled out wooden blockhouse as it climbed." The Book starts out in the fall of 1959 when Homer and the Big Creek Missile Academy (BCMA) launch the Auk XXII-E. Homer Hickam talks about a variety of subjects in this book. He talks about the hazards of 11 East, his friendly pet squirrel Chipper, and obstacles they had to overcome with improving their rocket design. And last reason I rate this book five out of five is because it has a message within. The book, for me, told me that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Homer Hickam co-founded the BCMA with a few friends just wanting to have some fun with rockets. And with his gain in knowledge of rocketry, and payload, he wound up working for NASA. If that isn't an inspirational story, what is? In conclusion, I recommend this book to any Homer Hickam fan or even a person who has never even heard of him before. This is truly, an unforgettable read.