Finding Caruso

Kim Barnes

When Buddy's parents are killed in a car accident, his older brother Lee takes him out of Oklahoma and drive until they reach Snake Junction, Idaho. There Lee finds a job singing in the local saloon and 17-year-old Buddy hangs out at the saloon with Lee. One night Irene walks into the bar and changes all of their lives.

Irene is probably twice Buddy's age. Lee, at 24, knows she is older but is immediately attracted, along with every other man when she walks in. Irene, though, has nothing to do with any of them. Buddy is the man who catches her attention. It is his innocence and personality that affects her. Soon they are friends, driving around the countryside and talking. Eventually, the relationship is more. Lee would like Irene to notice him, but knows she won't. He tries not to be jealous of his brother.

It is a hot, dry summer in the late 1950's Idaho. The wildfires start up in the mountains and burn the rest of the summer. The woman in Lee's band is found dead in the river. A Nez Perce Indian man is accused of murder. Buddy doesn't believe Wolf Child killed her but he doesn't get involved until Irene gets him involved.

Finding Caruso is a coming-of-age novel that makes the reader think. It is told by Buddy in first person narrative, so the reader sees the boy growing and learning. In my opinion, while Buddy certainly grows by the end of the book, he doesn't become a "man" in a completely mature sense. Instead, he is wiser and knows he has more to learn and discover. The family relations are complicated and twisted between Buddy and Lee, with the shadow of a drunken father always in their shared background.

At times Kim Barne's novel gets fuzzy and doesn't hang together quite right. But at other times Finding Caruso is poignant. She slides around the characters, not completely fleshing them out. But though it makes the book less readable, it is understandable. There is much Buddy doesn't know about the other people involved, so we only get his perspective. Finding Caruso is a good novel, not compelling, but gives an interesting snapshot of these people's lives.

Notice: Suggestive dialogue or situations