The Old Neighborhood

by Avery Corman

Book Overview

"Corman's novel is a work of art. The journey is joyous." --Los Angeles Times The classic, best-selling novel of a successful ad man from the Mad Men era. Steve Robbins, burned out, his marriage... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671414755
• ISBN13: 9780671414757
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

still a favorite

like many others just picked it up on a whim. Great story always think of black and whites and this book together,( the frosted cookie, not race relations) feel good excellent read.

One of my all-time favorite books...

I adore this book. I have read it several times over the last 15+ years. Corman has created a likeable but flawed protagonist: a boy from the old neighborhood who makes good, becomes an advertising wiz, marries a smart, beautiful woman, starts a family, and lives the American dream - for a while... I love this book because it is a tale of a man's personal journey up - and down - and ultimately to the place where he feels at peace with himself. It seems to be a theme that Corman has used more than once (Kramer Vs. Kramer, 50) but in my opinion, he hasn't matched the quality of The Old Neighborhood. It is a humorous and touching story. Corman's best.

a quick, glorious read

I found this book many years ago, and I've read it so many times my paperback copy is about to fall apart. It is a simple story of a man, born in the 1930's, who reaches adulthood and finds his neighborhood too confining and limiting, so he goes out into the world. Avery Corman's writing is tight and concise. There are parts of this book that are hilarious, and others that are warm and human. One passage where he describes a Gold Star mom celebrating VJ day makes me stop and take a breath every time I read it. Some of the events in the book and the protagonist's reactions are a bit dated today, but even so, I highly recommend this "feel good" story.