Asleep at the Wheel by fellow poster Ludlow is an excellent and well written tale of a young man maturing almost in the way of Holden Caulfield (A Catcher in the Rye) but in the modern day South and a Catholic frame of mind. The youth has committed his life to being a Catholic and this two main challenges are finding out if he is in love with his girlfriend Judy and adjusting to the US Marine Corp.

The reading is relaxed and comforting. The characters are nicely and richly drawn. The story takes place during the early 1970s and you get the backdrop of popular songs that ruled in that day.

Paul, who is 19 and turning on to 20, evolves through a familiar lifestyle blossoming in experiences with community college, working - he's a specialist steak and grill cooker at a restaurant - early enlistment and boot camp training. And love. Christian youth groups serve as supportive and substantial backdrops for social settings. Different flavors of Protestantism permeate across the landscape.

He's challenged in camp because unlike most others, he's not a runner (although he is an excellent swimmer). He cannot run long distances without petering out quick. I found this interesting because most times we hear of perfect physical types perfunctory going through the rigors of training. But here we have how a person, limited, labors through and meets the challenges in a believable way and builds up a consistent character because of it. This is what is attractive about this tale.

But so is his measured and meticulous treatment of love. Have you gone out with someone who was virtually silent and whose only contribution to social life was a smile? This troubled me a bit in the novel, because Judy, his woman-in-waiting, characterized with a strange upside-down smile portrayed with an "awkward shyness," seemingly has no mind of her own.

I don't think this is fair to Judy, but it is credible. Yet Judy has an expansive and practical love for kids. She does not discuss politics and is not concerned. But should this be held against her?

Paul practically tortures himself to estimate his love for Judy. But he can never find the spark that the Spinners sing in "It Could Be That I'm Falling In Love":

"You gotta feel it, I thought. Your heart's gotta burst with joy."

It's an analytical way of looking at love. But many people do this and those that don't, some like me, fall quickly out of love just as they fell instantly in love. We are left with plenty of broken hearts to show for it.

Love is an important topic in this book. And so are family relationships. George Penton has a svelte pen in drawing out nice camaraderie treatments of characters: the mothers on both sides, the individual friends. We have poignant pictures of lone soldiers, of soldier women. There's plenty of racial diversity, as Paul is waking in a world made new by more African American presence and other races.

Penton handles the travails of Paul as the flowering of a Southern young American gentleman. Level in his treatment of people and individuals and respectful of women, the book is a plus positive on my list. It is satisfying reading.

Asleep At The Wheel by George Penton, 2013
Available at Amazon and iUniverse

(corrections for above may be needed)

Molark

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