“I was not yet sixteen when I understood a great deal, from having ridden bicycles for so long, about style, speed, grace, purpose, value, form, integrity, health, humor, music, breathing and finally and perhaps best of all the relationship between the beginning and the end.”
–William Saroyan
Published in 1952, Saroyan narrates this memoir as his 44 year old self, reflecting on his time as a bike messenger growing up in Fresno. By age 44 in Beverly Hills, he was well established in the writing world, a Pulitzer prize winner and a father. His young son wants a new bike, and not a little kid bike, a full-on adult bicycle.
In the six hours that have passed since I first started to learn more about his book: I found a few copies online that looked cheap but then with shipping from Belgium or New Zealand they were no-go no-no. I checked at Magnus Books, nope. I requested a copy from the extensive interlibrary loan network established through the UW Library conglomeration. Then I bought my very own copy on eBay from a bookstore in Bethesda, MD.
I haven’t read it yet. But if you’re reading these words right now, I strongly recommend this book to you.
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