A Story That Also Involves Bridge Jumping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        The reviews on this one intrigued me, so I picked it up.  I will not say I was disappointed, but, as I read through it, I thought how, in my Shirley Jackson biography post, I stated she preceded Jean Kerr with the domestic humor novel.   One could say, as I am now reading "The Road Through The Wall," that she preceded Grace Metalious, who defined small town mendacity with "Peyton Place," almost a decade later.  That would be true, but don't forget Sinclair Lewis with "Main Street."  Or "Kings Row" by Henry Bellamann.  And there are most likely others going farther back.

                                       Which is how I felt about "The Gunners" by Rebecca Kauffman.  The title refers to the name of a group of six childhood friends--Lynn, Sally, Sam, Mikey, Jimmy, and Alice.  They would meet in an abandoned neighborhood house they would call "the Gunner house."  They are friends all through childhood, and even though adolescence does its usual number on the group, they persevere.  Until the day, when, for no reason, Sally Forester cuts herself off from the group completely.  The first mystery.

                                         The second comes later, in adulthood.  Sally has tragically taken her life, by jumping off a local bridge, and the remaining five return home to her funeral to confront themselves, and the blame each shares for Sally's behavior.

                                           What follows is a lot of well written musing, recalling movies like "The Big Chill" or "The Breakfast Club."  It is extremely well written, making up for the lack of originality, the lack of explanation for Sally's past and present behavior.

                                              Nevertheless, the two most interesting characters are Sally and Mikey Callahan, who learns more about his past they he ever guessed, is the one who remains in the hometown of Lackawanna, (PA, I think, no NJ) and who is facing the tragedy, in his Thirties of early blindness, due to early macular degeneration.

                                                 I felt for these two especially.  But I felt like I had read it all before. Kauffmann offers up a novel well written, and readable enough, but, if she was hoping to breathe fresh life into this generic story, I fail to see where she did.

                                                   A near miss, darlings!  Not to be avoided, but don't go out of your way, like I did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!