It's been a while since I've read a book that I've so thoroughly enjoyed. Mr. Freda gives us a real river cruise as he extends the metaphor beautifully. His style of writing is lucid, striking, to the point, and certainly no nonsense.

Certainly, this is a "coming of age" story and rather brilliantly done. I understand the author is a product of the Defense Department's overseas schools (he graduated from Kubasaki High School in Okinawa in the late '60s). I happened to be a young marine stationed on Okinawa at the time, personally nervous about Viet Nam (as most of us were) and when I picked up "Patience of Rivers" I felt the author had more than represented an era, of course. His book transcends a single concept. This is Mr. Freda's second novel (I've also read his "Suburban Guerillas" and it's also great!) and I can hardly wait for the next one.

This is a fun and engaging book, and an easy, quick, and suspenseful read. The author is an exceptionally gifted writer and good storyteller, who I think does an excellent job of capturing one of the most unforgettable moments in recent time...the late 60's. It is nostalgic without being overly sentimental, and I found the characters to be "real" people with universal qualities that are instantly appealing. The setting takes place in a small rural town, and I especially enjoyed the author's very lush descriptions of the natural beauty of the area, and how he wove this aspect of the story into the overall plot. Anyone who is a sucker for a "first love", coming-of-age story, but perhaps seeking a fresh approach, should read this book.

I was there! Not really, but I feel like I was. The author's feel for this era transported me from dusty West Texas to the foggy, wet Delaware River Valley. I was a little older than Nick, the main character in the book when Woodstock happened, but whispers of it ran through our tight-knit farming community like wind through the corn tassles. We wanted to be there. So the first week in August, 1969, 3 of my friends and I convinced a long-haul trucker to take us "east"! We ended up near New York City, hot, hungry and dirty with no earthly idea how to get to "Woodstock." But the freaks knew. They pointed us north, and with thumbs out, battered cowboy hats and boots and dirty bandannas, we headed for our life-changing experience.
Read this book, Buy this book, love this book, share it with everyone you know over 48! We were ALL there in spirit. We all wanted "out"! We all wanted "in"! We none of us wanted to go to Vietnam but I did. And I took memories of Woodstock with me. Now with this book, the memories of how free and easy it was back then, when all we had to decide was what to eat for supper, where to go dancin' and who to sidle up to was foremost in our innocent minds.
Thank you Joseph Freda, for putting it all into focus for me and for taking me back to a better time and place.-Scott Johnson

Freda gets to the very heart of suburbia with well-written quirky characters everyone can relate to. I may be from Florida, but I can definitely relate to what happened up in New Hampshire... over-development threatens everyone. I'm wondering where the sequel is, or at least another novel from the author. Note to Freda: Make your next book longer- I hated to come to the end of "Suburban Guerillas"!

While the setting is a suburban town in New Hampshire, the issues of fidelity, parenthood, identity, marriage, aging, and finding one's place in this world are germain to our every day existence; to be a suburban guerilla is to challenge the rolling pastures and strip malls of our psyche as much as those of our towns

Hurly is a small New England town, populated by small lives. But wait, there's more to life than mowed lawns, summer sun- sets, and ice cream. Just when you begin to see your own life as planned, predictable, and very common, like those in Hurly, Joe Freda and his gang of characters will teach you to peek beneath the rock to find the courageous, passionate, foolish, frustrated and loving nature that must be suburban life across America today. There's something for everyone to identify with, laugh at, and cheer for in this book. And happily, the characters of both sexes are drawn with a clear eye, simple lines, and surprising detail. Suburban Guerillas will sneak up on you and grab a piece of your heart. Read it. Keep it. Save it for your kids, because this is a snapshot of the life so many imagine and really do live today.