A coming-of-age story set in a small mountain town in New Mexico during WW II. 17-year-old Josh has to become the man of the household when his father goes into the Navy and moves the family from Mobile to New Mexico where they'll be safer. Josh's mom cannot deal with the change in social life and different cultural norms. Josh finds new friends and himself. The first time I heard about this book was when my mother checked it out of the library and I would hear her laughing as she read. I kept asking her about it and she read snippets aloud. I could hardly wait for her to finish so I could read it also. Many years later I checked it out of the library and read it again. For a while it was out of print and unavailable, but I'm happy that it's available again. I have my own copy now. ***UPDATE 25Aug12***Yet another re-read of this favorite. Bradford writes believable teens (and adults), making sense of a world whose rules have changed. I was caught up in the story of Josh and his family, as they tried to make the best of the situation. The setting shields the characters from the war, but war will intrude eventually. In the meantime Josh and his friends maintain some of the innocence of youth, while still stretching the boundaries as they rush head-long towards adulthood.***UPDATE 24May15***A challenge to read "your mother's favorite book" in honor of Mother's Day temporarily threw me for a loop. My mother passed away last year and she'd never shared what was her favorite read. (Actually, she didn't read much in the last two decades of her life.) Then I remembered this little gem of a novel. Oh, how we laughed together reading it! Re-reading it and thinking of my mother was a perfect way to meet this challenge. The hardcover copy I got from the library was the "seventh printing" and had no cover art - just a white background with a red and black title. BUT, it did include several author blurbs -including one from Harper Lee! She writes: Red Sky at Morning is a minor marvel: it is a novel of paradox, of identity, of an overwhelming YES to life that embracers with wonder what we are pleased to call the human condition. In short, a work of art. Well, I sure can't improve on that!
I think this is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm reluctant to make such a snap judgment, because I've read a lot of different books. But I enjoyed every page of this. It made me both laugh and cry a little, and it's rare that a book can do either. All of the characters are very charming, less like real people and more like real people as told by a real person that knows them. This reinforces the narration aspect while also helping the dialogue to be consistently witty throughout. The book actually deals with some big issues like cultural differences and the shift in our view of our parents as we grow older, but it's told in a very genuine way that makes even the starkest moments seem to flow by naturally. It's just like life at times; no matter what happens, you still have to deal with the realities of the next day. If I had to choose something to pick on with the book, I'd say that it ended abruptly. It felt like the whole book had been building toward something that happens near the end, but instead of exploring how the protagonist deals with those circumstances, it just kind of wraps up as quickly and neatly as possible after that. But getting to the end was enjoyable enough that I can't bring myself to be too hard on it.
Somewhere I saw a list that had this title as the best novel representing New Mexico. I'd never heard of it and put it on my list and then purchased it used on Amazon. It turns out it was written in 1968 and had been made into a movie in 1970 starring Richard Thomas.It is the story of a teenage boy who moves from Mobile, Alabama to Sagrado, New Mexico while his father is serving in WWII. The story touches on race-relations and classism, but unexpectedly is quite funny. The banter between Josh and his friends had me laughing out loud. Bradford has an ear for dialogue and the teenage viewpoint, which hasn't changed all that much in some ways. I'm adding his second book, So Far From Heaven, to my reading list.
—Jeanne
I just finished one of my favorite books. Again. Red Sky At Morning has been compared to Catcher in the Rye. I think it is so much better. I read CITR maybe twice in the 1980s, but I remember him smoking and roaming around the city aimlessly, cussing and that his sister was named Phoebe and he was concerned that she would turn out like him. Kind of like a not-so-fun Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Again, this is my memory from 20+ years ago. I may feel different now. After skimming a synopsis, I admit I should probably read it again. RSAM is about a kid whose Dad goes off to WWII while he and his mother end up in Small-Town, New Mexico. Josh does all the things small town kids do, and manages to be charming and funny, yet respectful, not sullen like Holden comes off. This book makes me laugh every time I read it. It seems like every few years I understand new levels in it.I might like this book particularly because it takes place in a world I can imagine, rather than New York, but the protagonist's attitude is positive, he is the sort of person I would have liked to have been friends with when I was in high school.
—Sherry Beth Preston
The edition in my possession, which probably dates from the 1970s, if I had to guess (heck, maybe it's a first edition) does look like the one in the picture here, but is not a paperback. This book was kind of a surprise hit for me. I'm not super-into sarcasm or anything, but this might be the most sarcastic book ever written. A really good coming-of-age story that makes me want to live in New Mexico (in the 1940s). I recall thinking the ending came sorta too-quickly, but I don't know if that was sloppy novel-writing on Bradford's part or just my own desire to see more happen with these characters (a hallmark of particularly GOOD novel-writing, in my estimation). Bradford wrote one other novel, which I just finished the other day, but this one is for sure his masterpiece. I always wondered how Bill Macabe ended up with these books - not that it's a surprise, he was really into western literature - or if he knew anything of Bradford beyond that which is available on the world wide web. This book was made into a movie at some point which I'd be interested to see, if it was available in any fashion (I don't think it is). I wonder why he never wrote any other books, or if there are some short stories or something, anything, floating around out there? He did have a knack for creating pretty colorful and memorable characters...
—RØB
