Eli the Good

Despite this book not having much of a plot (it's more of a "slice of life" story focusing on a 10-year-old boy in 1976), I quite liked it. All of the characters were interesting in their own way, and I wanted to keep reading to find out more. While I wish there had been more of an actual story, I still came away from the book feeling like I had enjoyed it. The events unfold slowly, like a lazy summer's day, but there's still enough history and emotion behind them that they pack quite an emotional punch.

As a character-driven story, it works quite well. If you require the stories you read to have well-defined beginnings, middles, and ends, you may be disappointed.

My first Silas House book. It won't be my last.
Amazing story teller. The book really touched my heart. I have no doubt it would touch yours too.

This novel seems to mark Silas House sort of leaving what he knows and writes about best. Set in the 70s and told through a 10 year old, it was just okay. It probably would fall more into the young reader category than his earlier novels. Plus, I had read his first three before this one...one after the other...so the changes in his writing and point of view were very obvious. I ordered "Same Sun Here." I'll see if he can return to the writer I grew to admire and appreciate.

Eli Book is ten years old the year the United States turned 200; Bicentennial 1976. It was a time when most people were happy and proud to be in America. Vietnam had ended just over a year before, leaving Eli's father in the trenches. His best friend, neighbor Edie, is a girl, (please don't tell). They do most everything together, including sharing of secret hideaways, under porches and in large bushes. Then one day, showing off in front of the guys, Eli hurts Edie and their friendship dissolves. Eli lives in a house-of-cards with everyone holding onto his or her own secret, including Eli. The big Fourth of July parade and town celebration becomes the breaking point for the family when the fireworks of secrets threatens the family. One person nearly self-destructs.

Eli the Good is a good Southern flavored story about the costs of war to a family. Eli's father was like any other until he voluntarily joined the army, thinking he will have an adventure, only to be sent to Vietnam where he saw and did unspeakable things. He brings the war home with him in the form of PTSD, a psychological disorder Vietnam vets are disproportionally affected. Eli's mother is the only line of defense when the soldier returns to the war. Eli is a brat. He eavesdrops on every conversation he can, borrows the letters his father wrote to his mother from Vietnam "to understand what happened over there," then deeply hurts Edie simply to be a big shot in front of a group of boys he was not even friends with (not that this would have excused his behavior).

Reading this was not the usually experience. At times, it seemed mundane, just as life can be. At other times, the story popped with excitement. The entire time, the story took me back to a timer when I was younger and did not understand war or the men who fought them. Eli's quest that summer is to figure out his father and the war he never came back from. Mixed in are secrets each character holds that has influenced their actions. Eli tries to become privy to each with his snooping. In the end, Eli wants his father to return home and love him as he thinks a pre-Vietnam father would love his young son. Throughout the story Eli is loved by both parents; he simply cannot feel it because of a wall built by the war, that no one can transverse.
It is odd how fragile, sad stories can lift you and renew your spirit. In this way, Eli the Good is an odd novel I'm glad I read. It is now available in paperback.

Note: received from publisher

If only I could read all the books I want to as quickly as I would like. Then, Eli the Good by Silas House would have been read last year for the Vietnam War Challenge. As it is, no matter my timing for this book, I am so glad I did read it. Although it is set in 1976, America's bicentennial year, this book really has a great deal to do with Vietnam.

Eli is ten during this summer. His sister, Josie, is sixteen, causing her mother constant aggravation by misbehaving - especially when she sneaks out of their home wearing a pair of jeans with an Amerian flag on the rear of them. Their father is plagued by flashbacks of his time in the war, and Eli struggles to understand what is going on. His best friend Edie is also going through her own tough times as her family falls apart. When Eli's aunt Nell moves in, he is happy to have this beloved relative near him. And despite the fact that Nell and her brother (Eli's dad) are in opposition when it comes to matters of war, the two siblings seem to live in harmony during this summer.

There are so many references to this time period - to the music of Bob Dylan, bell bottoms, war protesters, the Beatles, Jimmy Carter- that it truly feels like the 1970s and this decade comes to life.

While I have read several books about the Vietnam War, this is perhaps the first I have read for youth that deals with how the war affected the soldiers and their families - even years after the men return. Eli's innocence about this makes it stand out even more. He is just getting to an age where he is starting to notice that the nation's attitude toward the Vietnam veterans is different than it's attitude toward veterans of earlier wars. There is a very telling scene in this book during the Bicentennial parade where all the veterans march, each grouped by the war they served in. There is no representation for the Vietnam veterans. While Stanton (Eli's dad) still suffers from what he saw and took part in during the war, the way he is treated upon his return does not help matters. Eli so wants to know why his father is so changed, and decides to read the letters his father sent his mother while he was off serving his country. Although wrong, by reading them Eli can see how much his parents love each other, and the horrors his father is strill trying to forget.

The summer of 1976 is a time of growing up for Eli. House has written this book as though Eli is narrating it as an adult, looking back at this pivotal time in his life. It is good to know that although 1976 was a rough time for their family, Eli and the rest of the characters in this book remain true to who they are and have continued on with their lives.

The summer of 1976 was memorable for Eli Book Not only was it the country's bicentennial, but it was also the summer that his world exploded with secrets. Eli's dad is a Vietnam veteran and suffers from nightmares, hallucinations, and lack of respect from his fellow countrymen. To make matters worse, his sister is a famous anti-war protester, although she says she did it for him. Now she's come to live with them. Eli's sister, Josie is on the verge of rebellion against her family. Long adored by her father, she now grows distant from him and challenges her mother. Eli's best friend, Edie is going through some drama of her own. Through it all, Elis remains connected to the ones he loves, and to the nature that surrounds him. Told through Eli's voice, though from the distance of adulthood, Eli the Good is an unforgettable memoir-like novel. Stunning in its literary style, and compelling in its family drama, you will not be able to put this down. Have a box of tissues on hand. --- Goodreads review by Wendy Scalfaro

This product came in as advertised in very good condition. It is a gift for a family member.

Great book for my 14 year old. Highly recommend!

brilliant book....especially if u grew up around the time of the Viet Nam war. it's warm, sweet, and well written from cover to cover.

Students like the book, well received and a good addition to our adult education classroom.