Book Review: A Coincidental Life

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

A reflection on aging, politics, and the fateful coincidences that shape one’s life

Years after their shared adolescence in late-1950s New York City, Billy Feeney and Stevie Alpert run into one another at a bus stop in San Francisco and reminisce about the coincidences of timing that have shaped their lives. The narrative flashes back to describe their high school years together and their young adult years apart, including their time in college, their military service, their relationships with women, run-ins with the law, and the series of chances that led them both to the West Coast. 

Billy is a complicated figure with a difficult past, and his struggles to find his way through the world give the novel an emotional center. Ever since Stevie met him, Billy has lived off the beaten path. Orphaned as a teenager, he continues to struggle with the trauma of his upbringing by acting out and butting heads with authority. In high school, he leads a gaggle of teenage boys to seedy bars and clubs around the city. In college, he starts a shoplifting habit that culminates in his attempt to rob a Bank of America and subsequent incarceration in Alcatraz. 

When he reunites with Stevie in San Francisco, he’s attending a law program at Berkeley but hasn’t kicked the habit of stealing when he can. But Billy is an artistic soul at heart and loves San Francisco because he can rub shoulders with Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and other writers he admires. History buffs and readers of historical fiction will appreciate catching intriguing easter eggs scattered throughout the novel, like encounters with various figures. Fans of classic literature will also enjoy homages to figures like Melville, Shakespeare, and Henry Miller. 

Stevie, meanwhile, serves as the primary narrator, and we follow him through his debates about where to attend college to play basketball and how to avoid the Vietnam draft. He’s drawn to the Bay Area for its liberal politics and relaxed lifestyle, though he soon discovers the city doesn’t always live up to his ideals when he encounters pushback against anti-war protests. His narrative centers on the development of his moral compass and public stance on the war effort while serving as a National Guard reservist. 

The novel doesn’t shy away from taking on political issues, but it sometimes comes up short with its treatment of side characters. Some female characters function mainly as sexual objects for the novel’s male protagonists. Black characters, meanwhile, are featured most prominently as pimps, prostitutes, or criminals threatening the cadre of white teenagers that explore New York together in the novel’s early sections. 

The variety of form and narrative experimentation lends a layer of complexity and added interest to the novel. The narrative moves back and forth between past and present, Billy and Stevie. Some chapters are written in the first person, which include reflections on aging and contemporary political issues and, occasionally, poetry. Sometimes these switches in timeline and perspective can cause some confusion, and it’s not always easy to determine how some chapters relate to the rest of the narrative.

The book will have much to engage those interested in 1960s history, with fun and unexpected tie-ins to real-world events. 

---

Thank you for reading Toni Woodruff’s book review of A Coincidental Life by Ron Kemper! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.