Growing Up on Route 66

Growing Up on Route 66 is set in a Missouri small town along “America’s Main Street.” Most of the action takes place in a neighborhood known to the children growing up there as the "Circle.” That time and place are remembered by the novel’s narrator as ideal, but closer scrutiny repeatedly--and often humorously--complicates this innocent picture. In growing up we continually confront things that do not make sense. Then, in sudden moments of inspiration the pieces come together. For those growing up in the 1950s, the biggest mystery of childhood was sex. And central characters in this story, Mark Landon and Marcia Terrell, are repeatedly surprised as parts of this great puzzle take shape in and around them. We are determined to a large degree by the material world in which we live, our own bodies and the world around us. The landscape Mark Landon comes to appreciate contains the great promise this nation enjoyed after World War II. For those living west of the Mississippi especially, this prospect was symbolized by The Mother Road, Route 66.