Bøger af Jerome Mark Antil

Peck Finch's best friend moves from Baton Rouge to Paris to become head chef at a Jazz Bistro on the Left Bank. At the Paris airport she is kidnapped by a murderer and low life intent on holding her hostage and making Peck his 'mule' to smuggle something into France.

Où as-tu caché le corps ? demanda-t-elle.Un roman d'aventure qui raconte le voyage mouvementé d'un homme mourant et de la version cajun-française de Forrest Gump. Peck travaille comme jardinier et gardien dans un hospice à Carencro, en Louisiane, où l'un des patients, Gabe Jordan, complote pour s'échapper grâce à son aide."Antil (Les Mystères du Club de Lecture de Pompée Hollow, 2011, etc.) a le don de faire naître des personnages magnétiquement complexes. Peck est indéniablement le meilleur d'entre eux : un jeune homme de 24 ans analphabète, parlant de manière presque incompréhensible, connaissant le français, profondément conscient qu'il est irrésistible aux yeux des femmes. Un récit délicieux et décalé, à la fois imprévisible et émouvant."KIRKBUS BOOK REVIEW

A must read for every parent, grandparent, teacher or attorney experiencing or witnessing a broken home where children are involved. It was inspired by a child - written by her dad - and it promises to help anyone who keeps it as ready reference.

Une bande d'enfants du nord de l'État de New York vit une série d'aventures sur fond d'après-guerre.Le jeune Jerry Antil a toujours été un citadin. Aussi, lorsqu'en 1948 lui et sa famille - sa mère, son père boulanger le gros Mike et ses frères Mike et Dick - quittent la ville de Cortland, dans l'État de New York, pour s'installer à la campagne, il réalise qu'il va devoir s'adapter. Heureusement, Jerry, comme tous ceux qui ont grandi pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, est un garçon débrouillard qui sait tirer parti de n'importe quelle situation. Et grâce à son père, Jerry sait que, pour peu qu'on y prête attention, beaucoup d'aventures nous attendent, qu'importe où l'on se trouve. Avec un groupe d'enfants sur la même longueur d'ondes, Jerry forme le club de lecture de Pompey Hollow. Ils ne tardent pas à trouver l'aventure partout autour d'eux, qu'ils recherchent un groupe de voleurs entrés par effraction dans les commerces locaux ou tentent de sauver un troupeau de volailles innocentes d'une fin macabre à Thanksgiving. Se présentant comme une série d'histoires distinctes, le flux du récit ressemble davantage à un roman qu'à un recueil de nouvelles. Les personnages sont bien développés, surtout les enfants. Le style est simple mais efficace. L'humour est plus loufoque que spirituel, mais seuls les coeurs endurcis ne riront pas au moins une fois. Le roman se montre parfois un peu mielleux, mais n'en reste pas moins franc et sincère. Les passages les plus touchants décrivent la relation de Jerry avec son incroyable père, qui lui transmet un sens aigu de la morale ainsi que le goût de l'aventure. L'auteur insiste de manière convaincante sur l'idée que grandir en temps de guerre eut un effet profond sur l'attitude des enfants et leur vision des choses, leur permettant entre autres de tirer le meilleur parti de toute situation.Un récit sincère sur l'enfance à l'ombre de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

A young man stumbles upon a sex-trafficking ring in New Orleans and attempts to save one of its victims.Boudreaux Clemont Finch-everyone calls him Peck- is a man of beguiling contradictions: Once "e;an illiterate Cajun French lawn-mowing hunk,"e; he is now in night school in Tulane, while he works at a law office run by his boss and sometime lover, Lily Cup. Despite his unprepossessing manner, he has a remarkably lively, observant mind. One night, he witnesses a young girl-he estimates she's 13-abducted at gunpoint, pulled into a black Mercedes, and beaten. He suspects and later confirms with his own investigation that the girl has been forced into sex slavery. He learns her name-at least the one she is forced to adopt-is Tiffany. With the help of his friends, including Lily Cup, he decides to liberate Tiffany and "e;bust up"e; the trafficking ring, a terrifyingly dangerous mission. Meanwhile, Peck wrestles with his own traumatic childhood, one marked by unspeakable abuse at the hands of a man, Guillaume Devine, who raped his mother. Antil paints a sparkling tableau of life in New Orleans, one also sullied by a nefarious underbelly. He movingly creates a melancholic atmosphere where he can explore the "e;sadness in the world,"e; as Peck's friend Gabe puts it. Better than most, Peck comprehends the way evil wreaks havoc in New Orleans, and he succinctly summarizes it to Lily Cup: "e;Bein' rich ain't a bad thing cher, but it's the bad rich people looking for poor people that's bad. It's street-smart people looking for street stupid people."e; A darkly thrilling literary exploration of the scourge of sex trafficking.

In 1953 Jerry travels to Little Rock Arkansas where he sees racism that stuns him intonightmares. Enter his guardian angel - they come up with a grand scheme to save a younggirl from being in harm's way. HEAVEN SENDS FOR HEMIMGWAY, was selected by School Library Journal as a must read for Black History Week.

A classic coming of age tale. In 1953 Tall Jerry turns twelve and six-foot-three in the same summer. Accidently bumping into a naked Marilyn Monroe calendar at Leonard's Coffee Shop, it changes his world. Rascal brother Dick and his friend David Duba play with Jerry's mind about the whole affair but it is his guardian angel Ole Charlie - with the help of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - that Tall Jerry lands wholesomely on his feet.

Imagine a world at war. Cities and countries wiped off the face of the earth. It happened. Imagine kids getting through it dreaming of white Christmases, of falling in love and living happily ever after. That happened too. These same kids invented Elvis Presley, Rock and Roll, tail fins for cars and the panty girdle. They invented the Hula Hoop, EZ Bake Ovens and the bikini...why they even landed on and walked around on the moon. Nothing to it.Their first loves were harder. Meet a forties child Jerry. Jerry's rose colored glasses came off in the '60s, he came of age, forgot he was just a kid and conquered marketing. Hollywood couldn't have written it better, and it's true."e;Just finished the book and I am simply staggered at how good it is. The story is engrossing and speaks to what every man has lived in his own life. It is a profound work. It is at its root a story of growth and passage. Passage from youth to maturity. All of us have had a similar experience but you have memorialized it into a beautiful narrative. There have been two comparable works for me personally. J. D. Salinger s epic, A Catcher in the Rye as I became a teenager and a movie I brought to the screen in the 1980 s: Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner and written by Stephen King. Both made a profound impact on me and shed insight and light on my own life and evolution. Now, I must add a third leg to this group: The Long Stem is in the Lobby. It is that good. Thank you for making our times together a part of this wonderful work. I am honored. Congratulations my friend. I am glad that you have been and are in my life. Pete"e; ~Peter S. Sealey (Past president of Columbia Pictures)

In 1953, the memories of the war were fading but not gone. The kids that stuck together likeglue through the shadows of the war, are now coming of age, growing like weeds with a summer vacationstarting before they become Freshman in high school. They''re dealing with growing pains of the bodyand mind - and they reconnect at the cemetery in the late spring just to catch up. Little did they know they (and you) were in for a year not soon forgotten. Truth be told this is pretty much how it all happened...this is how times were in the day. Book One - Summer Vacation - Book Two - A Halloween Caper -Book Three - a Thanksgiving to Christmas adventure proving that Black Lives Matter to thePompey Hollow Book Club.

This historically set trilogy is packed full of small twists and clever turns; and the central characters are fully developed and highly interesting.The story basically follows a small number of characters growing up in the 1950s. There is a gripping adventure in all three of the books, but, in many ways, this is not a plot-led story. It's all in the characters. And all of the characters even many of the secondary literally jump off the page. The author has his characters talk in a way that is fitting to the time, but, thankfully, it is always understandable, and, as such, only adds to the story.In many ways, this set of books is an ode to the ';good old days'; and I suspect the author remembers them with relish, and not a little yearning. As he says in the intro, ';before there were cell phones and an internetof a time when a full, hot meal at school cost a quarter'. But, although ';history' is a vital part of the story, the author also understands how important it is not to just simply describe the ';historical' setting but, rather, have the characters interact with it in a natural and unobtrusive way. Many authors, who set a book in a different century, seem determined to describe every silver spoon and every woolen tunic. Thankfully, this author has not fallen into that trap. I was particularly impressed by the style of writing in many ways. Many authors tend to describe setting and characters in hefty lumps of text, particularly in historical texts. But this can kill the pacing. Thankfully, this author is wise to this, cleverly mixing up speech, fun happenings and the describing of character and setting. Subsequently, the writingfelt light and not at all like wading through cauliflower-cheese. And, where there is description, it is imaginatively written.To sum up, this is a gem of a trilogy. Most readers, particularly men, will find it gripping; the sort of books to get lost in; the sort of books where every character is the sort of character you wish lived on your own street. Also, I suspect, many will find this story helps them to reflect on family, the simplicity of youth and old school pals lost in time. It's the sort of story you recommend to a pal; that gets tatty corners as it's read so much.

In the opening of the titular love story, Jerry, rather appropriately, is enamored. It’s 1966, and the 20-something is a groomsman for a friend’s Long Island wedding. He catches a glimpse of one of the bridesmaids—Pamela, as it turns out—and is immediately smitten. The nearly 7-foot-tall groomsman is coupled with Pamela, the tallest of the women, for the ceremony, and they even get caught in a photo together with a passing Robert F. Kennedy. But after the wedding, Pamela heads back to Paris, where she works as a model. Ten years pass, and Jerry has the opportunity to spend an evening with Pamela, an unforgettable encounter before the two reunite decades later. Antil’s tale grows more endearing as the couple’s romance becomes more familiar. Jerry, for example, initially idolizes Pamela, whose modeling days were spent mingling with celebrities, but as he gets to know her (favorite movies and books), it’s an unquestionably strong connection between real people. The remaining trio of tales in the collection delves further back into Antil’s history, each revolving around Christmas with his family. The hilarious “Richard Leaves the Choir Breathless” spotlights 6-year-old Jerry’s older brother, Dick, who’s in trouble so often at Roman Catholic school he’s mastered the art of sleeping while standing in the corner. His performance for the school’s Christmas pageant is, not surprisingly, a showstopper. “Postwar Shortages and Shortfalls” is likewise amusing when a holiday gift for the children’s mother leads to a mishap at a bank that may traumatize the family with embarrassment. The book ends with “A Cazenovia Christmas Past,” the gloomiest of the bunch. In it, preteen Jerry and his siblings are shocked when their father is diagnosed with tuberculosis and leaves the family to stay at a sanatorium. Not sure when his dad will return, if at all, Jerry may miss out on the joy of the childhood he’s experiencing, including a summer job and young love with the new girl at school, Judy.Winsome stories of love and unbreakable bonds, notwithstanding tragedy or years of separation.

One More Last Dance is a compelling story about the power of friendship, one that develops between two men through an unlikely road trip.Peckerwood Finch has a lot going against him. The 25-year-old Cajun man was abandoned at birth by his parents, endured abusive foster parents, is illiterate, and there's his namean unflattering term for a rural white Southerner. Fortunately, he's affectionately known as Peck (his given name is Boudreaux Clement Finch). Peck is a fisherman and mows the grass at a small hospice on a Louisiana bayou. There he meets Gabriel ';Gabe' Jordan, an elderly African American man dying of cancer whose final wish is to attend the Newport Jazz Festival. Despite his own shortcomings, Peck is determined to make Gabe's dream come true.The new friends hit the road only to be stymied by, among other things, a lack of funds and Peck's poor sense of direction. At times, guardian angels come to their rescue, including a wealthy real estate broker who offers to buy airline tickets, among many other generosities. But Peck has no form of identification and must travel by bus while Gabe flies. The bulk of the story then concerns Peck's adventures en route.

The British have landed...again! In this heartfelt coming of age story, Ole Charlie, the club's Guardian Angel since the Book of Charlie narrates another adventure. This one with an international twist. The Pompey Hollow Book Club novels are lighthearted nostalgia about growing up in the heart and the shadows of WWII. The club started when they were all nine, just after the War - and, truth be known, it had little to do with books. The name was a convenience to their club of valor, enabling them to get out of the house for club meetings - even on school nights. Mary Crane has been the club president since 1949 - primarily because she could spell, and hit a home run. Now they are all teens. Antil takes pride in the historic detail of his backdrops - researching the War years and early 1950s rural America - times he grew up in. Many of the main characters are real. The adventures get taller with the telling but they have accurate roots in the times and foundations in truth. The War that killed seventy million people presented in an interesting way so as to encourage a better understanding among today's young adult - making a point we mustn't forget this War and its heroes. In this adventure - book three in the series - we find Mary Crane overseeing the club's volunteering to do the chores for poor old Farmer Parker's farm - watching over his team of horses and some milking cows - bringing the hay down into the barn while he's bedridden with a badly sprained back. In doing so a biplane giving State Fair plane rides goes off course and nearly crashes on his farm. Rushing to the pilot's rescue, the club members unwittingly step into their most spirited adventure yet - this time a need to out trick a professional pickpocket at the State Fair who happens to be in a traveling Sherlock Holmes Players company from England. Jerome Mark Antil is the seventh child of a seventh son - of a seventh son. Born at sunrise it's been told by Mary Holman Antil and Michael C. Antil Sr., that he was the first of eight siblings to stay awake all day and sleep through the night from the moment he was born. "My dad was a baker from the 1929 Great Depression through the post-War 1950s. As a young boy, I'd ride with him all throughout central and northern New York visiting grocers and U.S. Army bases; baseball parks and bread lines as he sold his bread, hot dog buns, pies and cakes. My Dad was 'Big Mike' and I loved listening to his timeless stories and tall tales - stopping at fishing holes along the way. All day rides with Big Mike - his Buick my Steamboat - his grand stories and an entire world at War my Mississippi."