Paperboy

In this debut novel based on the author's childhood and set in 1959 Memphis, readers meet an eleven-year-old narrator who has a substantial vocabulary and can consider many sides of an issue but who, because of his stuttering, seldom speaks. When he takes over his best friend's paper route for the summer, the task is Herculean. He can withstand the July heat, fold the papers extra tight, and throw them with precision. But he must collect payment every week, compelling him to talk to strangers. He writes the way he speaks, using plenty of ands but few commas, creating a near stream-of-consciousness narrative. With heartbreaking detail, he describes his difficulties, how he uses the "Gentle Air" method of blowing out a few breaths before certain consonants, or shouts certain words, or tosses an object in the air before uttering a sound. The only name readers know him by is Little Man, the one given him by Mam, his family's black maid. Her presence accurately reflects the times, and, to some extent, Vawter sidesteps the stereotype by combining Mam's need for personal justice with her protection of Little Man. Still, it is the paper route that Little Man must conquer on his own, and the people he meets during his journey he must understand. In a compelling climax, he, still stuttering, proudly announces his real name; the moment is as eloquent as his story. betty carter