Book Review: The Tattered Box by Paul Schumacher

Book Review: The Tattered Box by Paul Schumacher 

Below is my Goodreads book review of The Tattered Box by Paul Schumacher, a Colorado author.

The Tattered BoxThe Tattered Box by Paul Schumacher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Tattered Box by Paul Schumacher is a memorable coming of age story about John, a young man coming to grips with his father who left him when he was a young boy. His elderly grandfather, Bill, leaves him a tattered box full of items evoking memories of his past. After John is hit by a baseball and knocked unconscious, he mysteriously time travels to 1941 where he meets his grandfather as a young man. It is as if the past, present, and future join into one timeline. All of the items in the tattered box are left intact at the beginning of John’s journey into the past. As John adjusts to the pre-WWII culture, he becomes friends with Bill and shares every moment that the items in the tattered box symbolize. As John learns more about his grandfather, he gains insight into himself and discovers the importance that memories hold for the future.

This is a beautifully written, multi-layered story with rich symbolism. One of the more poignant scenes is when John and Bill observe an eagle protecting its helpless eaglets in the nest. John says, “Their father would teach them everything he knew, then suddenly push them out of the nest, forcing them to flap their wings in one death-defying leap.” This is a pivotal scene that ties into the heartfelt ending, leaving a visual memory forever etched in my mind.

I highly recommend this book for the poignant message about how moments of the past, present, and future co-exist between generations.

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