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Ira Sukrungruang of the
English department holds a copy of Bombingham
by Anthony Grooms, the Oswego Reading Initiative
selection for 2007. He is also seen holding previous
selections including: Fast
Food Nation by Eric
Schlosser, Lone
Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
by Sherman Alexie, Mountains
Beyond Mountains
by Tracy Kidder, The
Speed of Dark by
Elizabeth Moon, and Haven
by Ruth Gruber. |
The novel Bombingham
by Anthony Grooms has been selected for campuswide reading
this summer, and activities in the next academic year,
under the Oswego Reading Initiative.
The book spans two pivotal historic events and offers
a personal, identifiable narrative through fictional
protagonist Walter Burke, said Dr. Rhonda Mandel, interim
dean of arts and sciences.
“The main character is fighting in Vietnam, but
he’s also reminiscing about growing up in Birmingham,
Ala., during the civil rights movement,” Mandel
said. “It’s also a juxtaposition to Vietnam,
in how what happened in Birmingham affected how he functioned
in Vietnam.”
The action finds Burke trying to compose a letter to
the parents of a fallen compatriot, inspiring flashbacks
to an upbringing when he was faced with the choice of
joining the fight for equality or sitting on the sidelines.
Between bearing the indignity of Jim Crow laws and having
to deal with a dying mother and alcoholic father, Burke
faces plenty of conflict and upheaval within and around
him.
“Grooms confronts this suffering head-on, showing
that hope and dignity sometimes can be reclaimed in
the process,” Publishers
Weekly said of the novel. “This is a powerful,
important debut.”
As usual, the ORI selection will adjoin a range of programming,
and the book’s themes tie into many different
academic areas, including history, psychology and literary
studies, Mandel said.
An ORI kickoff event is slated for 12:40 p.m. Wednesday,
May 9, during SUNY Oswego’s last College Hour of the
spring semester.
—Tim Nekritz M ’05 |
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To February 2007 E-Newsletter |
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