The Codger and the Sparrow
Hank O'Sullivan, a 65-year-old widower, lives a routine life, nursing his loneliness with cocktails at his favorite local bar in Austin, Texas, until a brawl with an acerbic barfly lands him in jail. The judge pities the old codger and sentences him to do community service, picking up trash beside the interstate highway alongside a 16-year-old troublemaker, Luis Delgado. Luis lives with his stern, single father in a small apartment and has remarkable artistic abilities, but his penchant for sneaking out and trespassing onto rooftops late at night. These loners form an unlikely friendship in an inhospitable setting. When Hank tells Luis about his desire to drive to Houston, Texas to reconnect with an old flame, Luis asks to tag along. Luis' estranged mother also lives in Houston and he has been saving money for a trip, dreaming of reconnecting with her. Hank agrees, setting in motion a raucous road trip in a hot pink 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. With humor and a bit of grace, The Codger and the Sparrow is a rambunctious story about an unusual friendship stretching across the generations.
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A quirky journey with surprising smiles. Thanks for the ARC copy to explore.
You won't read another like this. At once a celebration of friendship and an elegy for loss, The Codger and the Sparrow unreels improbable surprises that ride along in a hearty road story. The mashup of aging alcoholic and rising teen artist is only the start of the tension in this swift novel. Besides the generational gap, there's a bridge to be built between these characters' race and culture. Away this spirited book travels, searching for the duo's desires while it keeps a close eye on the details that would spark a careful artist's eye. The images it captures are extraordinary poetry.
Community service after skirmishes with the law is the device that brings this pair together, seeking a return to love and a fresh start at happiness. We travel along with curiosity across these chapters, guided sometimes by the nostalgia of paper maps and at other times the spot-on steps of a smartphone. There might be peace at the end of these pages, but I won't give away that spoiler here. In this novel, the journey is the destination. Enjoy this ride.
Hank O'Sullivan is getting older. Widowed and alone, he goes through life mechanically as the days pass on and on...
One day he meets Luis, a sixteen year old boy, trying to make his way through life. They are complete opposites. One is old. One is young. One has family. One has none. One is cantankerous and cranky while the other is boisterous and level-headed. One is full of life and the other? Maybe just wants it to be done.
Weirdly, they strike up a friendship. One which shows that life can sometimes bring the right people into focus at just the right time. And while it may seem like you have nothing in common...well sometimes life surprises you there too and maybe knows a little better than you know yourself.
I absolutely loved this one. Two worlds colliding with young meets old and peppy meets grumpy. I LOVE Hank, the old codger
