Lost in Place:: Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia

This warm, entertaining memoir suggests that Salzman (The Soloist) was an unusual child. As a 13-year-old who was small for his age, he sought to prove himself through Zen studies and kung fu, paths he followed obsessively, just as he had decided, at seven, to train to become an astronaut. The oldest of three children, Salzman, who was born in 1959 and grew up in Ridgefield, Conn., admired his parents, his father a gloomy but companionable social worker and amateur astronomer, his mother a cheerful music teacher. Most amusing are Salzman's stories of his kung fu apprenticeship under a dissipated but sadistic sensei and his friendship with one Michael Dempsey, ``the most feared boy in our school,'' a creative troublemaker and martial arts buddy. When he matured to driving age, Salzman had a penchant for buying lemons from used-car dealers and also became infatuated with marijuana, even trying to grow some at home. (Dad ordered an uprooting.) He studied the cello and was accepted into Yale, where his adolescent interest in things Chinese found fruition. If Salzman is reticent about some self-revelation, he taps enough poignancy and humor to shape his story into a memorable one. (Aug.)