Sometimes connecting the dots is an easy thing. There is a man, there is a boy, there is a dream... Why not connect the line, from the man and that hopeful boy to that dream, and consider it a life welldone? But sometimes, life gets in the way. In this important companion novel to Bernadette’s first book, On Brigden Road, meet Maarten van Meer as a young man. Set in dark moody Amsterdam, and impossibly sundrenched L.A., Maarten tries to pull off a magic act—make a life for himself from what little he has. But the struggles in life are the good stuff. The dreams in life are the good stuff. Fall in love all over again. Remember your own dreams too. If you liked Shine, Beautiful Mind... If you like stories of struggle, redemption and courage... You will like this book too.
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By vincevj
Jun 2, 2011
"The Boy from Boomstraat" is a parable that might be universally applied to any man or woman anywhere on the globe. It is the story of a young man with big dreams, but life's detours alter his course, and by the end, life has not turned out as he imagined. In the case of Martin, the "speed bumps" are enormous as he navigates the loss of his father, a mother of questionable reputation, deep poverty, the ravages of World War II, just to name a few. Haunted by a dream not necessarily fulfilled, he none-the-less believes that perhaps he has accomplished something admirable. The novel is very well written and in many ways reads like "Pulp Fiction", i.e. the events of Martin's life are not chronological. The pattern of his life emerges as the "dots are connected". As a guy reading the book, I got the same feelings that I got when I saw the movie "Field of Dreams", one of the few movies where it was OK for a man to cry. Bernadette Joolen has... More > crafted on outstanding novel, that after reading, just about anyone can relate to the story in their own personal way. A great read.< Less
