An interesting coming of age story set in the picturesque Catskills in the 1960s. We are seeing Nathan's story, through his eyes, of working as a waiter at his aunt and uncle's resort. What a time to be a teenager to see all these colorful characters and learning about life and how all of these things shape you. During that precious time in life, it's amazing to look back at what experiences and life lessons we remember so vividly. ( )

Thank you to LibraryThing and the author.

I really thought this was a memoir since the cover (to me) looked like author (probably was).
I never bothered to look on Amazon to see what category it fell under. Half way through I was confused and asked myself why he wasn't in the book.

Set in the Summer of 1965, coming of age, hence the title (read between the lines), Nathan was working there for the Summer, at his family's resort (generational now run by his aunt and uncle), with his cousin Jeffrey, to save money for college.

I enjoyed this book not only since I could relate to it being in The Catskills, during the Summer and the Yiddish phrases and the Jewish people who flocked there but also the typical food and entertainment of the resort. The beginning of the chapters with jokes by Morty were fun to read.

There were some serious happenings going on also and also first love. I liked how the beginning was set in the present (2005 then) and I assume Nathan was selling the property and how he was looking back at how it was and how it was then, barren, and basically gone.

This is a charming memoir about a young boy’s coming of age working at his family’s resort in the Borscht Belt of the Catskills in the 1960’s.

As a child Nathan spent all his summers at the3 bungalow adjoining Rubel’s Mansion, the summer resort owned by his mother’s family. Now as a teenager, he is back to work as a busboy/waiter for the summer season under the watchful eye of his older cousin Jeffrey.

As the new kid at the among the resort workers, Nathan gets the worst accommodations, and is the butt of many jokes. He longs for a sexual liaison with the nubile young heather and ignores Ruthie who ha true feelings for him. He can’t figure out just what, exactly, is wrong with the resort comic Morty Mishkin. Over the summer the answers start to reveal themselves culminating in a tragic event right before labor day.

Nathan learns some painful lessons but also learns the true meaning of love and family., ( )

I had a hard time getting through this book... perhaps the memoir type of story is not my thing. I kept picking it up and putting it back down and finally gave up. I am sure it may appeal to others who enjoy memoir stories. The jokes in the beginning of each chapter were rather corny, too. That may have been the humor "back in the day" but I didn't find them very funny. ( )

I received a free copy through the LTER in exchange for my honest opinion. This book caught my attention based on where the setting of the story was. My husband had visited the Catskills and the "Borscht Belt" hotels as a child and has very fond memories of it. The story line itself was interesting, however (and I guess because I never was a teenage boy!) the constant stories about the sexual desires of "Nathan" was more distracting than helpful to the book.