Me and Mr. C

Chance Montana

8/5/2007

Review by Molly

Simon Peters operates under the premise that, if anything is of any real importance, it will somehow demand his attention.  At the age of eleven, he became a ward of the state, a condition Simon indicates a nice little euphemism for my folks treated me worse than garbage and the state finally intervened and removed him from them.  Simon then spent the following three years bouncing in and out of foster homes, being expelled from first one school and then another as well as spending six months plus in a juvenile detention center.   At age fourteen, in a tiny, forgotten corner of the globe he found himself with a new foster situation, a new school and more than his share of anger and distrust for teachers, foster parents, people in general and life especially.

That placement turned out to be the best thing to happen to Simon, it was there that he met Joe Christman, Mr C., began living with the Fishers, a 60ish couple, and for the first time in a long time knew success and acceptance, caring and hope.   High school graduation was in 1989 and was followed by disappointment in college.  Simon went home for holidays with Fishers, worked as roofer, and faced the realization of heart rending grief when the Fisher’s were killed in car crash. The Fisher’s listed Simon as next of kin; he remained in his boyhood home where he  began writing and receiving rejection notice after rejection notice when in 1993 an old classmate from high school, Maya the beautiful, appeared to talk about manuscript written by Simon.

When Simon and Maya marry, Mr C is best man, 6 years into their marriage Simon turns to Mr C following an upsetting argument with Maya; that was the last time Simon would see Mr C, 17 years pass as Simon becomes a well established writer.   Before setting out on his morning run Simon is shocked to read, ‘ Joseph Christman, 68 years old, of 72 West Esalen Road, was found dead at his home by sheriff’s deputies.’

As did the Fishers when Chrisman dies he lists Simon as next of kin and the executor of his estate.  Closing up Mr C’s affairs Simon is suddenly brought face to face with government run amuck with increasing regulations all issued as ‘preventing terrorism’, The Safer Nation Act of 2014 carries an automatic prison term for the possession of any explosive or firearm, along with a growing list of banned, ‘extremist’ literature, films, and works of art.

The celebration to celebrate Mr. Chrisman’s life brings Simon and old classmates together in ways none of them might have imagined as they; a winning writer, a successful business man, an enterprising journalist and a concerned politician ponder Mr. C’s affect on their lives, the nation run afoul of common sense in the name of safety, and what it will take to bring the country back to the values as envisioned by the founding fathers.

Me and Mr. C offers a frightening glimpse into the failure of governmental intervention whether in the name of protecting children, making citizenry safer or promoting the general welfare of the nation.  Writer Montana makes a strong case for the necessity of citizens keeping well informed, aware of events and probable outcomes for apathy.

Writer Montana has fashioned a hard hitting, fast paced work filled with gritty, at times raw language, human characters with all the flaws as we all share, governmental meddling at its worst in the lives of the population, and a frightening scenario that might have been lifted from the pages of newspapers printed today rather than sometime in the future.

Me and Mr. C is not an easy chair sipping iced tea type read.  It is a gripping roller coaster of events, emotions, thoughts, passions and decision fueled first by wariness and later by resolve.

Not for everyone, those easily offended will be put off by language, however language used is not done for shock value, as a teacher in a setting much as is described on the pages of Me and Mr. C I am well aware the anger and the language of the high schoolers in the narrative  is that of many teens.   The males in Writer Montana’s book do follow the social dictum of our society; and do not use the raw language in the presence of women.

This is a book I would permit my own teens to read and discuss with me, powerful read, happy to recommend for the mature teen audience, home and school library, high school guidance or social studies classroom and the public at large teens and adult.

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