John Mahoney

A Quart Jar of Peaches John Mahoney

Understanding death is one of the most difficult things all humans have to do. A QuartJar of Peaches is about how a young boy is affected by three deaths while he seeks immortality. The twelve-year-old is keenly aware of mythical beings like Time, his nitwit brother Luck, and their cousin Chance, along with Chance's two sisters, Joy and Sorrow playing with him and interceding to affect the consequences of his, and his friend's adventures. The peach is an ancient symbol of a long life and even immortality. The boy's mother's quart jar of peaches has captured time. It takes place during the summer of 1956 when children were free from the bombardment of excessive video stimulation, and had time to play make-believe games outdoors, work on projects, and allow their minds to develop thinking skills. The unique structure of the novel with chapters and sub-chapters transports you back and forth from reality to a metaphysical world. Young people are always keenly aware of things that older people ignore or never notice. A Quart Jar of Peaches takes you pastGolding's, Lord of the Flies, is deeper than Saroyan's, The Human Comedy, and is more meditative than Knowles', A Separate Peace. Read it slowly. Share it with your children and your parents. Both will find it fascinating.