Paperboy by Vince Vawter (review)

It is with some trepidation that the eleven-year-old narrator, who withholds his name until he completes his story, takes over his best friend’s paper route until the other boy returns from vacation. It’s not that pitching papers is too hard; he’s known among the local kids for his arm on the diamond. Afflicted with a severe stutter, he’s embarrassed and concerned about how he will communicate with customers when he makes the collection rounds—a weekly task back in 1959. The humble neighborhood route turns into something of a voyage of discovery for the boy, who normally keeps to himself. There’s the flirtatious attention of a young alcoholic housewife, a glimpse into the mysterious condition of a boy who sits at the TV with the sound turned off, a bachelor who lives among stacks of books and has a knack for helping the new paperboy control his stutter, and, in a darker turn, a junk collector who attacks and threatens the life of the black housekeeper who looks after the paperboy. The protagonist tells his tale in short paragraphs that capture the way he imagines his own fluent speech—articulate, economical, and completely devoid of commas, since there are already too many pauses in his actual speech. Confidence born of his weeks of accomplishment eases his stutter somewhat, and readers will offer quiet but heartfelt congratulations when he finally utters his own name, which begins with the letter most difficult for him to pronounce.