Marvin Piersoll by Bernard Mendillo
Book Description
When his second wife leaves him for another man, Marvin Piersoll comes to the realization that he has nothing to lose. So, he sets out on a journey of discovery, driving fromNew York City to Wellfleet, maybe to learn to sail. There’s the Jaguar, there’s the nun, there’s the hairdresser’s assistant. There’s the boat man, the beautiful classmate, the confused wife and the waitress at the New York deli. At every turn, Marvin encounters all manner of humanity. The question is, will Marvin get to Wellfleet and learn how to sail? The question is, what’s over the horizon?
Book Review
I was given this book to review by the author, and really enjoyed the story.
It is a tale of one man’s adventure during the summer at an important turning point of his life. Basically he goes on a journey, after his second wife leaves him, and this journey should end up in his learning to sail. The journey is as important as the arrival and he also realises that in New York, his home town, he has left behind the most important thing, Maria.
There is a Walter Mitty element to his many encounters on the journey, in that the women he meets nearly all seem to be blonde, except for Hope who is black, and very willing to have sex with him at the drop of a hat, or almost before his suitcase hits the floor of the numerous hotel rooms he finds himself in. However, he does good works along the way, spends lots of money and is a very likeable character. There are some very witty one liners, for example when he is with one of his encounters, Ivy, the talker, he describes his choices after college as;
‘He had a few options open to him, teaching, graduate school, going to war.’
And when talking to Harold, the sailing teacher about his experiences with women, Harold says,
‘Women pulled muscles getting their clothes off fast enough.’ very funny.
The description of Brown University is a bit too detailed and slows the flow of the story a bit, but all in all this is an enjoyable book with a happy ending. (More or less, as Marvin would say)
Marvin Piersoll by Bernard Mendillo,
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