Reviews of Childsong

Inside the plain, grey, nondescript cover of Childsong is, in my opinion, a work of literary genius. Sometimes the most difficult book to read can be the most rewarding and, as you read further, becomes more and more interesting.
Examining and putting forward the turbulent environment of college students anywhere and at any time makes any specification of place and time unnecessary, thus the writer does not give an exact location or an exact date. For those that focus on detail this may be hard to overcome [sic], but this dismissal of information lends to the universal relevance of the characters.

I could see myself, as you will be able to see yourself, among the group of self-centered, free-wheeling, fun-loving college students. We are not always proud of who we were during those years of discovery, but every experience you go through makes you stronger. With characters that are not all good or all bad, we read of a group that is loveable and dislikeable all in one. Sometimes, and definitely in this case, extraordinary things transpire in the most ordinary of circumstances.

With Childsong, Thor Polson uses his talent with words to create a piece of work that was definitely worth the twenty-year wait. This is not meant to be an easy read, but once you become engrossed in the story, and you will, you will not put this book down. When you are reading the final sentence (“They sat silently in the park and listened to the wind in the trees.”), you will realize that life is what you make of it.
— Danelle Drake, Reader Views

 

Is the current generation of youngsters set for self-destruction? Childsong is the tale of a group of friends hailing from a small college in the Midwestern United States where they face the terrifying truth of adulthood, where they must learn to survive and cope with the most terrifying lesson they will learn of all - that the world is not all about them. Childsong is a well-written coming-of-age novel with a deft criticism of the current generation, a top pick for any community-library fiction collections.

— Midwest Book Review

 

Childsong tells the stories of some freshmen in a Midwest Christian liberal-arts college. Despite the great expectations from parents and family, these young men and women soon find college life boring and empty. Lost and self-centered, they begin to squander their freedom with youthful excesses. Some try to fight off their boredom with overdrinking and frivolous romances. Others turn to even more dangerous outlets. Though bearing symptoms of the Me-Generation such as jealousy, hypocrisy, selfishness and apathy, these young men and women are also searching, no matter how erratically, for something that they can put their hope and faith into. At the end of the novella, the protagonist, Tommy Pendoro, finds his peace in poetry. Others are not so lucky. Childsong is experimental in that this novella is a combination of poetry, playwriting, monologue and narrative. For readers who love the art of words and who can relate to the disappointments and struggles of adolescence and early childhood [sic], it is a gem.

— Sophia Geng, Minnesota Literature

 

Thor Polson wrote this exploration of youth in the early 1980s and waited twenty years to publish it. The story revolves around a group of students at a small college in the Midwest U.S. and details how their selfishness, jealousy and despair affect their thoughts and actions.

The book begins with Clifton, the egotistical jock who thinks he has the world at his beck and call. This is the young man whom all the girls and boys love. He's self-centered and thinks that the world revolves around him. He's also rude and self-serving, yet that doesn't stop others from looking up to him and coveting what he has.

The other main character seems to be Thomas, a student who has the potential to do great things, but circumstances have gotten in his way. He wants to be a poet yet never seems to finish anything he starts; if he does finish something, he ends up burning it. He's afraid to share his work with others for fear of rejection, and the few poems others have read are difficult for them to understand. The Me-Generation mentality of the 1980s prevents his peers from seeing past their own ideas and ideals and grasp what Thomas feels.

Other students include a girl every boy wants to love, another girl who is actually worthy of every boy's love but not pretty enough to draw the attention. There's a boy struggling with feelings of homosexuality, and a boy who feels cast aside by his peers.

Polson’s writing is unique. Combining narrative, prose and creative writing, he has meshed a conglomeration of techniques into a book that forces the readers to slow down and confront what the cast of characters is facing. It is indeed an interesting style of writing and one I've never encountered before.

Although difficult to read at times, Childsong does stir the reader's emotions. Polson creates a story line that makes you angry, sympathetic, empathetic and sad all at the same time. This is a creative book - to say the least - and one that will require your full attention.
— LuAnn Morgan, Rebecca's Reads

 

One of those rare books that will change the way you think. A hard read but well worth it!
— Danelle Drake, Book Reporter: Word of Mouth