Sting-Ray Afternoons (Rushin) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
In his funny, elegiac memoir Sting-Ray Afternoons, Rushin mines…ineffably familiar terrain with a sense of irony and deep affection, working hard to capture the look and feel of the 1970s.… Much of what Rushin writes about—the Sears Christmas Wish Book, leaded gasoline, Johnny Carson's many vacations—will strike a chord with anyone who, like me, grew up in that era. What makes the book more than just late-baby-boomer nostalgia is the writing, which is knowing and funny.
Jim Zarroli - NPR


Magnificent... You will not read a better book this summer - and maybe well into the fall and winter, too.
New York Post


Sting-Ray Afternoons is [Rushin's] story of growing up in Bloomington in the 1970s. It's a lighthearted, sentimental look back at a Minnesota childhood with a twist of wryness.… Rushin's told-with-a-smile stories of childhood are worth the trip: bundling into a snowmobile suit in winter, piling into the Ford LTD Country Squire for a cross-country summer vacation, making mild mischief with neighborhood friends, and one memorable disaster when nature called and wouldn't be kept waiting. All seen through that gauzy, yellowish filter that blurs memory with Dad's Super 8 movies.
Casey Common - Minneapoolis Star Tribune


Whether quoting his father as he describes his five kids (“I have one redhead and four shitheads”) or retelling stories about him being drunk on what was the then new Boeing 747, it’s through his father that Rushin captures the mystery and magic of childhood.
Publishers Weekly



(Starred review.) Rushin approaches his passion with a mischievous gleam in his eye, a point of view captured perfectly in this anecdote-filled account of the sport's odd corners.... In an era of sports literature when societal significance and statistical algorithms aren't always as fun as we'd hoped, Rushin has reintroduced readers to silliness. Read it with a smile.
Booklist


Although frequent sidetracks into generic comments on life in middle America … sometimes detract from the author's personal story, the nostalgic sweetness of his memories carries the book along comfortably. Rushin provides convincing evidence that life in the '70s wasn't as chaotic as it's often made out to be.
Kirkus Reviews