PECK & PECK by Bonnie Garmus

5 stars!

Everything about this book is simply BRILLIANT, so funny and engaging!

From a young age, Batter Gray obsesses over poetry, much to his loving parent’s chagrin as they see no future career in it for their only child. But Batter has a unique ear for great poetry, and his passion consumes him. Of note, Batter has been named after a beloved dog of his Mom’s whose heroism has been the endless source of family story-telling, and Batter as he enters adulthood going to have to become heroic in his own right to save an esteemed New York City poetry magazine, Peck & Peck.

Set in the early 1980’s, Batters gets hired to work in the dank basement copy room of the magazine, although the rest of the office is glamorous, artsy and over the top and filled with 39 editors.  Two things become quickly apparent to Batter: he gets to see all the poetry under review for the magazine as editors rely on a pneumatic vacuum tube system to get copies circulated, and he realizes that the two inheriting Peck brothers are at intense war with each other. The current editor Salton Peck, while supposedly good at business, has no ear for poetry and is a complete bully and narcissist. His brother who was jailed for financial wrong doing at the magazine has a great sense of poetry excellence, nurtured poets and was beloved by the editors who now despise his brother.

Even for someone like me, not drawn to poetry at all, you get swept up in learning so much more about its beauty and power. And Batter’s Mom, who’s a specialist in typography endless delights with her insights into type fonts and how they can profoundly manipulate readers. Even Salton’s endless foul-tempured and bully assistant Dexter York gets to have his moment in the sun. Romance gets a play as well, as Batter falls for a girl he meets at a poetry reading but appears off limits.

Humor abounds as the war over Peck & Peck’s survival and leadership ensues, and the ending lives up to the book’s great comedic and philosophical poetic premise.

Bravo Bonnie Garmus on a wondrous novel following on the heels of the runaway hit Lessons in Chemistry!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.