I recently devoured a book called Setting Free the Kites by novelist Alex George.Reminiscent of the great characters in John Irving’s Hotel New Hampshire and the atmospheric Empire Falls by Richard Russo, George takes us to a fictional town on the coast of Maine.Anyone who has visited the Maine coast will recognize the cold surf, the dilapidated mills, and the dissonance between townies and tourists.Two boys become fast friends and their lives intersect in stunningly beautiful, jaw-dropping exclamatory and achingly agonizing ways.There we meet Nathan Tilly and Robert Carter, thrown together in a middle school locker room when young Robert is having his head flushed by the local bully.Nathan, a plucky kid, comes to Robert’s rescue forging a deep and abiding friendship. READ MORE
