Renovations

by Marchese, John

• ISBN13: 9781573229319
• ISBN10: 1573229318
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-07
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade

Summary

Renovationsis more than the sum of its parts. It's a sensitive portrait of a father-son relationship. It's a funny, thoughtful account of dealing with the challenges of midlife. It's also an inside look at modern home renovations. And the end result is as rewarding as the most challenging home project (with or without Bob Vila's help). "Achingly honest, often funny and always elegant...so vivid you can hear the hammer's thwack." (Raleigh News & Observer) "[Renovationsis] about tearing down walls, first the ones made of Sheetrock, then the walls that had been put up between a 39-year-old son, an urbane freelance writer, and his cranky 73-year-old father, an Italian immigrant and former construction worker...a self-deprecating memoir that tells a larger story." (USA Today) "Full of wisdom and genuine humor... Marchese's honest, uncluttered account lets the emotion emerge quietly, as the nails are being hammered." (David Pitt, Booklist) "With spare elegance, John Marchese leads us on a touching personal odyssey as he sets out to rebuild a house with his stubborn old man, and he manages to create something far more vital and lasting than a shiny new abode. He builds a deep-walled wisdom that we can all learn from." (James Dodson, author of Final Rounds)

Author Biography

John Marchese has been a frequent contributor to The New York Times and a contributing writer for Philadelphia magazine, where he shared a National Magazine Award for special interests and won a National Headliner Award for feature writing.

Table of Contents

Tearing Down a Wall	1	(8)
I Should Have Listened	9	(8)
Where I Lived (If You Call It Living) What I Lived For	17	(9)
Home Again	26	(13)
Dream House	39	(16)
Floyd's House	55	(10)
My House	65	(6)
Working	71	(22)
Woodchucks and Squirrels	93	(19)
There Might Be a Name for It	112	(15)
Sheetrocking Through the Midlife Crisis	127	(26)
They All Fall Down	153	(13)
Scaffold	166	(16)
John and Tully's Excellent Adventure	182	(17)
Chalk Lines?	199	(19)
Finish Work	218	(11)
Epilogue: Another River	229	(12)
Acknowledgments	241