BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
Stealing A Summer’s Afternoon is the story of how Elliot got his groove back.
Elliot Serlin has been a stand-up guy his whole life. A good Jewish boy from the Bronx, Elliot has reached middle age without having ever diverted from the path of the straight and narrow. A devoted, hard-working husband and a caring father but it seems that it has all been for naught. Selfless to a fault, Elliot endures a job that he absolutely loathes to stave off the financial insecurity that looms ominously over the shoulders of most people in this economy.
Then the other shoe drops. Elliot loses his entire life’s savings, including his son’s college tuition, due to the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. In short, he has been Madoffed. To add insult to injury, he has serendipitously learned that he is about to lose the job that he detests so much but is his only source of income. He chooses to keep all that vital info from his wife, as his marriage might not withstand the strain of the unfortunate turn of events.
Elliot is in dire straights, with his back to the proverbial wall and the voracious wolves of financial ruin, despair and divorce in hot pursuit.
Luckily, Elliot has a plan. Well, sort of. It is more like a harebrained scheme to steal a painting that is worth a small fortune from the office of his much-hated boss. He enlists a motley and rag-tag group of people to carry out the task at hand. Through the planning, trials and tribulations of the quixotic conspiracy, Elliot finds something more important then the money and financial stability that he so desperately seeks.
Stealing A Summer’s Afternoon is the second novel from author AJ Sidransky and it is nothing like his debut opus, Forgiving Maximo Rothman. While the former was an epic, sweeping and much more serious affair, the latter is a hoot. You will find yourself laughing out loud to the missteps, musings and shenanigans of Elliot and company. Stealing A Summer’s Afternoon is an excellent and accessible sophomore offering from an author that knows how to spin a yarn and entrance a reader.
Related:
Uptown Reads: Forgiving Maximó Rothman
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