Best College-Admissions Novel Ever, Plus it's Not Plagiarized
Categories: Rediscoveries , Fiction
Joseph, protagonist of Bruce Jay Friedman's A Mother's Kisses was a good student in high school, but due to stiff competition from returning WWII soldiers, he finds himself in the summer after his senior year with nowhere to go next. (These were the days before community colleges and proprietary schools with flexible deadlines.) Fortunately for Joseph (or maybe not), he's got his mother fighting for him.
You'll either love or hate this book. I love it, but I'm not crazy about this particular cover, because I think the mother should be more glamorous.
To take his mind off his college problem, Joseph's mother sends him off to be a camper-waiter in the country. His job is humiliating, because the other boys his age are professional waiters: they wait on guests of the camp and receive big tips at the end of the summer. Joseph waits on campers and will receive no tips. He finds romance, sort of, but it's with a low-status girl that he immediately wants to avoid. He rejects her father's advice:'
You don't need a college now days,' said the man. 'I've got a little something in imported silks I'd like to talk to you about. You won't need any schools. Go ahead. Dance with my little girl. They're crazy. There's nothing wrong with her. Wouldn't I be the first to admit it?'
His biggest fantasies are about colleges: "... Colgate, a scrubbed and beaming crew-cut place, and Bucknell too, brash, white-sneakered, and cocky as a pup."
Finally he does get into one--not one you or I would pick, but he's grateful--he believes its name is just outrageous enough that others will think he must have had a reason for choosing it. The dorms are full, though, and the retired military man Joseph's mother has to "get to" in order to find local housing does not come through.
Will Joseph ever get to sleep somewhere that's not a motel room with his mother in the next bed? What about his required coursework, which is unusual to put it mildly? Is the doctor who checks out his arm really a doctor at all? Do sofa-makers really make sectional sofas by sawing regular-sized sofas in half? Some of these questions do get answered in this charmingly acerbic bildungsroman.
After you finish this one, go on to Friedman's other almost equally funny novels, plus plays and short stories. I particularly like The Dick (police detectives) and About Harry Towns (lonely Hollywood guy).
