Harry Patz's new book THE NAIVE GUYS is set in the early
1990's when email, cell phones and laptops are
nonexistent. The main character, Mark Amici, has just
graduated from Boston College and is excited about the job
offers that he thinks will be pouring in. When his phone
doesn't ring and he doesn't have any prospects, he moves
back into his childhood home with his mom, sister and
Uncle
Frankie. He takes a job as a bartender while he is trying
to land a job in the newly burgeoning tech industry.
Mark is not only naïve about his job prospects, but he
also
is a bit clueless about matters that concern the opposite
sex. He so desperately wants to find the "right" girl
with
whom he can have interesting conversations, and who is
also
sexy and intriguing. Mark is smart, funny and kind and is
the type of guy with whom we sympathize when his romantic
encounters go awry.
The friends that Mark made in college are like brothers to
him and these friends are prominent characters in the
novel. Whenever he needs advice, someone to make him
laugh, or someone to serve as his wingman, his friends are
only a phone call away. Mark and his buddies have some
very
funny adventures throughout the book and the conversations
that they have about love, sports and life in general are
hilarious. The author's sense of humor that prevails
throughout The Naïve Guys is one of my favorite aspects of
the book.
One of the activities that keeps Mark tied to his Boston
College community is his attendance at sporting events.
Mark and his friends meet up several times to cheer on
their favorite football team and just for a little while
he
is able to forget his problems with the ladies or his job.
The Naïve Guys poignantly demonstrates the importance that
friendship, sports and loyalty all have on getting us
through the tough times in our lives.
I would classify THE NAIVE GUYS not just as literary
fiction, but also as historical fiction because of its
accurate depiction of life in the early 90's in New York.
Important historical events like the first bombing of the
World Trade Tower, O.J. Simpson's infamous car chase and
the 1992 presidential election are events that we witness
through Mark's eyes. Each chapter is also the title of a
popular song during that era and it is clever how the
author subtly provides us with a soundtrack to his book.
For anyone who was in high school or college during the
1990's this book is a perfectly written, fun and nostalgic
read. THE NAÏVE GUYS has the combination of great
characters and an interesting plot that makes it a page
turner until the very end.
Against the historical backdrop of New York City in the
early 1990s, The Naive Guys: A Memoir of Friendship, Love
and Tech in the Early 1990s is a hysterical yet poignant
coming-of-age novel. Mark Amici embarks on a challenging
journey through the postcollege world, where he struggles
to
emerge from his sheltered upbringing to a life of sex,
love,
friendship, and career success.
Fighting through the bad economy of 1991, Mark takes an
entry-level sales role at a growing tech company,
Fishsoft,
at the dawn of the Internet Age.
Living at home with his gruff uncle, mother, and older
sister, Mark pursues his aspirations with a trio of
wingmen,
Pete, Sally, and Kostas. His quixotic search for love, his
desire to truly understand his family, and his pitfalls
through corporate machinations all provide a humorous
glimpse during an uneven period of life transition.
Interwoven with key moments of the times, including the
Bill
Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani electoral victories, the
first
World Trade Center bombing, OJ Simpson, and New York's NBA
Knicks and NHL Rangers simultaneously in their respective
finals, The Naive Guys tells the story of one man's
journey
to uncover and fully understand his identity.
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