As a 'Townie,' I Enjoyed Reading This Book

Recently finished listening to author Andre Dubus III's very engaging memoir "Townie" on CD. This was one of those audiobooks that I found hard to get into at first, but had me riveted once I got past the first CD.

Dubus very eloquently tells the story of growing up in the '70s in a nondescript New England college town. The title “Townie” refers to the insulting term that college kids have for lifelong residents of the town like Dubus – something I can relate to as someone who was born and raised in Columbus, home of the Buckeyes.

After his parents divorced when he was young, Dubus and his four siblings and their single mother struggled to make ends meet, moving frequently and surviving on cheap canned food.

Being short and scrawny as a kid, Dubus was bullied by neighborhood tough guys. At some point as a teen, he has an epiphany and decides he's had enough of being pushed around and starts working out. As he bulks up, Dubus transforms from a timid kid who was an easy target to an amateur boxer who goes looking for fights, taking his frustrations out on the very bullies who used to use him as a punching bag.

I don't usually condone violence, but there are parts of the book when you root for Dubus to beat up some coward who smacks around his girlfriend, or another jerk who had been wreaking havoc in the neighborhood and terrorizing innocent people.

Eventually, Dubus has another epiphany and realizes he can't go around solving all of his problems with his fists, that he's either going to end up killing someone or wind up dead himself. He becomes a sort of "thug whisperer," developing a knack for calming down guys who pick fights and learning to talk his way out of conflicts.

Instead of fighting, Dubus starts channeling his pent-up emotions into writing, finding almost immediate success selling short stories to magazines and later as a novelist of best-sellers like “House of Sand and Fog.” Dubus has writing in his blood, since his father, Andre Dubus II, was also a celebrated writer.

In his 20s, Dubus reestablished a relationship with his father, who was often distant during his childhood, by becoming drinking buddies with his old man. Later in life, Dubus selflessly helped his father recover from a tragic car accident that left him paralyzed.

Although it was hard to get into at first, by the time I came to the end of "Townie," I was sorry it was over.