The King of Billy Goat Hill : A Novel

The King of Billy Goat Hill : A Novel by Stanleigh, Mark. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780965288804.

The Highland Park/Eagle Rock area of northeast Los Angeles is the setting for this wonderful, heartwarming novel. The story begins in 1958 (I was 5 then) when two young brothers sneak out in the middle of the night to a place known as Billy Goat Hill. What happens that first night sets the theme for this deeply moving psychological study of childhood events and how they control our emotions and behavior long into the future. There are many laughs to be enjoyed throughout and several times I openly wept as waves of empathy for Wade Parker shook me to the core. A finely woven plot that leapfrogs from the late 50s to the present will keep you engrossed page by page by page. I savoured each chapter and utterly adored the ending. Unless you have been miraculously blessed with a problem-free life, you will identify with every disturbingly dark and brightly illuminated nuance of this beautifully crafted story.