As of right this minute I have read exactly forty seven pages of this book. Mark Slouka’s Brewster came to me via Indiespensible last summer. I realized after I finished In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods that I’m just about a year behind in reading my Indiespensible books and I feel pretty guilty about that, so I picked this one up a few days ago instead of starting my July Numbers Challenge book.
This book takes place in the town of Brewster, New York, in the late sixties. Right now it’s 1968, and as of right now I’m not sure how far forward in time it goes, but I’m sure eventually I’ll find out. The narrator is a high school senior named Jon Mosher. His best friend is Ray Cappicciano, and so far in the book I’ve learned about how Jon and Ray first became friends when they were freshmen, and not much else. I know that later on, Ray meets a girl and they have some sort of star-crossed lovers situation. I also know that the author lives in present-day Brewster, New York (thanks to my Indiespensible author interview). I am not sure if the novel is going to just be a study of the relationship between two teenage boys in the sixties, or if it’s going to have a substantial plot as well. I’m also inclined to think that since the book is called Brewster, there’s likely to be a love letter to the town of Brewster component as well.
I’m enjoying the writing so far—Slouka is a very readable author. I’d never heard of him before this book came to me, but if the next two hundred and some chapters are the same as the first forty seven, I’ll definitely be checking out his other novels.
More to come.
Postcards From Purgatory 
I have that book, and I think I’ve read about 47 pages of it too. I started it and abandoned it for some reason – not sure why. One thing I have learned from your reviews is that the Powell’s Indispensable books are generally not my cup of tea. This is the first book from this series that you’ve reviewed that I’ve independently chosen for myself.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch was also an Indiespensible book, I just haven’t gotten to it yet. But I agree the Indiespensible books are not generally your cup of tea. There are only a few that I would have picked up on my own, though I have enjoyed more than I haven’t. My goal in spending $40 every six weeks on these books is to discover new novels and authors, and I’ve done that. I’ve also accumulated a fair amount of Powell’s swag, which is a secondary goal of paying Powell’s $40/month.