All-American Boy

Seventeen year old high school graduate George Williams wryly tells of his senior year as a member of the Class of 1959, in the insular, upscale town of Windham, New Jersey. In the shadow of an oppressively conformist society, where gray flannel executives commute to New York City jobs George and his friends cannot fathom, the boys struggle to find meaning in their moneyed, languid existence while drifting from moment to moment, as their parents shuttle from city to country club. Girls, cars, rock and roll: all baubles in an era soon to end with the decade. Against the backdrop of the social values of his time, George initially takes for granted the racially segregated and prejudicial attitudes of his community. Cynicism and humor combat the umbra of the Soviet nuclear presence, the teenagers’ only weapon against the constant threat of destruction. On the surface, all drifts along in almost a stream of consciousness fashion; yet, stress cracks begin to appear as suicide and scandal break the smooth facade of the suburbs, and the future appears almost beyond resolution. George gradually questions the morality of his hometown, and struggles to find meaning and purpose in what seems a suffocating preordained destiny, culminating into a shadowy glimpse of true evil. The rock and roll lyrics of various 50’s hit songs, quoted as introductory lines to each chapter, are surprisingly appropriate to the era and, together, form the anthem of the times.