Diver

A 12-year-old boy sifts through his memories of his late father in the nuanced latest from Buzbee (The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop). It’s 1970 when Robert Macoby’s father Elwell, known as Mac, dies of a heart attack. In nonlinear snapshots, Robert muses on the joyful moments they had together, like trips to a bar to hear Mac’s stories about making underwater repairs on Navy ships during WWII, sharing plates of Crab Louie, and watching Mac demonstrate his diving skills. Robert also wrestles with things he only partly understands at his young age, including Mac’s volatile relationship with his older son, who enlists to fight in Vietnam. A parallel narrative follows Mac’s life sequentially, from when his parents left him in an orphanage during the Depression through his early enlistment in the Army at 15, learning to weld, his career in the Navy, and his rocky civilian life, during which his self-worth is caught up in his ability to provide for his family. Buzbee effectively conveys the messy blend of adoration, fear, and affection a young boy feels for his father while making Mac a fully realized character with his own faults and charms. The author’s fans will be pleased. (Self-published)