A thoughtful 20th Century narrative, How I Got to Yesterday a Fictionalized Memoir by Paul Sedlock, covers five decades in the life of working class everyman David Crobak. Divided into six parts with a rich cast of colorful characters, we follow David from the Midwest to the West through turbulent times. His adventures, faults, and fears lead him toward a growing acceptance of who he is and where he belongs.
Assessment:
Plot: This fictionalized memoir features a fast-moving plot. However, certain events in the first half of the book deserve more reflection and interrogation. Still, the final chapters go a long way toward making up for this deficit.
Prose: Sedlock’s prose is clean and elegant, flecked with unique phrasing that fits with the book’s timeline.
Originality: It’s not every day that readers experience a fictionalized memoir. We’re left wondering which parts of which events are real and which are fabricated—which ultimately lends a sense of mystery to this delightfully readable book.
Character Development: Sedlock’s characters are fully formed—readers know their motivations without having to be told about them. This feat is accomplished by the author’s gift with dialogue, which, page by page, is true to life in the best of ways.
Date Submitted: May 16, 2018
"An evocative narrative of one
thoughtful man's American life
in the 20th century, overshadowed
by politics, sex, guilt, and too
many Happy Hours."
"Sedlock's prose (especially when
evoking childhood) is as sharp,
glittering, and dead-on as the edges
of a broken bottle, and he shows
considerable generosity of spirit
in granting even minor background
figures deep inner lives and intellect."
--“Kirkus Reviews”
