Resident Book Review of “Lawn Boy: A Novel”

Charlestown resident Chilton Knudsen will review “Lawn Boy: A Novel” by Jonathan Evison [New York: Algonquin, 2018] on Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium.

Somewhat perversely, I have recently taken to intentionally reading banned books. LAWN BOY (2019 Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill NC) is the 7th-most frequently banned book in American Library Association history.. Curiously, the book was published in 2019, while school-and library-board bans of the book did not appear until 2022, first in meetings of the Leander (Va) school board.  Death threats ensued against the author and certain school board members.

Mike Munoz is the son of a Mexican single mother, living on an Indian reservation in Washington State. In his early 20’s, he lives in a shed behind his mother’s double-wide, caring in his free time for a special needs brother. He works on a landscaping crew serving prosperous gated communities several miles away.  His major skills are lawn-mowing, edging, pruning and topiary.

Mike often suffers humiliation and abuse from the wealthy employers who give him other menial jobs while he is working.  He is fired for refusing to pick up waste from a St Bernard owned by one of the families.  Mike begins to ask what else he can expect from life but more of the same.  Because this book is written in first-person, we “hear” a lot of what Mike is thinking. He is given to tirades against the dark inequities of the American Dream, along with compassionate reflections on human struggle.

After being fired, Mike applies for a series of hourly wage jobs (fast food, retail), with no results. Eventually, a real estate entrepreneur wants Mike to be the landscaping leader for his many properties (“because you don’t look Mexican”.)

No spoiler here!  Come to the Book Review on June 18 to learn how Mike turns his life around (and finds love!).

Jonathan Evison is the author of nine novels and widely recognized, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

Rt. Rev. Chilton R. Knudsen is an Episcopal bishop residing at Charlestown. Among her areas of interest are social justice and reading fiction.  She has presented several enlightening reviews of novels.