Philco
Author: Ken Mansfield
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Review Date: July 2018
I must confess before proceeding with this review of the new book, Philco, that I honestly didn’t think that I would like this book before I even started reading it.
Boy, was I EVER wrong.
I even told its author, Ken Mansfield, as much.
For one thing, I don’t read very much in the way of fiction. The fictions I do read are the Tom Clancy kind of books. But, because I like Ken and he’s always been good to me and Boomerocity, I felt that I, at least, should try to read it.
When I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down.
What’s it about?
Well, I’ll answer that question by asking the Baby Boomer readers here a question: Do you ever wish that you – and we, in America – could go back to Mayberry, figuratively speaking?
I mean, America is a far cry from what we used to be.
We used to be neighborly and I admit that I really don’t know who my neighbors are, any more.
We used to stop and help people who are broke down on the side of the road, but we don’t do that anymore because we either don’t want to be inconvenienced or we’re afraid of getting robbed.
We used to sit by the bedside of our ailing friends and now we don’t even know they’re sick. Sometimes, it’s even weeks or months before we learn that a friend has passed away. How sad is that?
Well, Philco is one of the most brilliantly written works of fiction that I’ve read in a very long time. Imagine what you would get if you wrote of longing for Mayberry in a Twilight Zone kind of way. If you can imagine that, then you’ll know what to expect from Ken Mansfield’s “Philco”. If you can’t imagine it, read the book and you’ll be amongst the informed.
Philco is a man who just appears. In the middle of nowhere. From nowhere. He doesn’t even start out knowing what his name is, but you’ll love (and even chuckle) how he got the name, “Philco”.
He doesn’t know who he is or what he’s doing here . . . wherever “here” is. And “here” keeps changing and the people he meets are a reflection of a parts of how America (or Mayberry) used to be. The mores that used to be the norm in America. All the aforementioned things we used to do but don’t anymore.
After you read the book, you’ll be happy, sad, and reflective.
Happy because you’ll smile at the memory of how things used to be.
Sad because of the realization that those days are likely gone forever – at least in our lifetime.
Reflective because you’ll want to do what you can to bring a piece of Mayberry back into existence by being what we all used to be.
Rarely does a work of fiction affect a person – or even have the potential of affecting society – as does Philco. Order online or at your favorite bookstore now and read it right away.
Yeah, it’s that good.
Philco
