Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1780033 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Although coming of age on the mean streets has been done to death, this debut by a Bay Area novelist/screenwriter puts an interesting spin on the genre. Fifth-grader Conrad Clay lives in a seedy neighborhood of Alameda, near the San Francisco shipyards and naval station. The son of an abusive, alcoholic welder, he is one of 14 white boys at Jack London Primary, though he fits in pretty well because he avoids "comin at it on the honky-ass tip." His father has just lost his job (but is keeping it a secret), his mother is slipping deeper into depression, his beloved grandmother is in failing health and they are all facing eviction. He finds some solace with his black best friend, Loop, but even that relationship is tumultuous: at one point his father mistakes Loop for a burglar and nearly shoots him. Characters and plot lines range from the mundane (a bully, some adolescent sexual fumbling) to the bizarre (a pair of gay pro wrestlers, Conrad's plan to kill his father with a pipe bomb), but Winer's take on boyhood, with its attendant spasms of bravado and insecurity, always rings true. He errs toward the obvious when it comes to symbolism (Conrad is partially colorblind, for starters), but his imagery is often arresting and he manages to infuse the various domestic upheavals with a dark, damaged lyricism that is deeply affecting.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In his first novel, Winer tells the story of ten-year-old Conrad Clay, a boy whose childhood is almost behind him. The book is dramatic and well written, focusing on the struggles Con must face growing up in the poor and depleted shipbuilding town on the island of Almeda off the California coast. Con struggles with feelings brought about by his parents' constant fighting, his deep longing to escape the island, and his colorblindness. Con can see colors in others mom is yellow, best friend Loop is silver, Gramma is gray but he continues to search for his own color. Con learns that his family and friends are the only thing that can save him from getting completely swallowed up by the troubled environment around him. And when he eventually finds his own color, he realizes that he has "seen it out of the corner of my own eyes all my life." Winer's appealing use of dialog and language contributes to the story's sense of reality, although some not familiar with urban slang, such as "decks" (skateboards) and "bettys" (girls) may find some passages confusing. This quick and impressive read draws the reader in page after page. Recommended for public and academic libraries; Winer is the coauthor of a screenplay recently sold to Fox/New Regency. Lonya French, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Growing up can be tough on a kid. Take, for example, Conrad Clay, the 10-year-old narrator of this heartfelt and literary but muddled first novel. Conrad's parents fight incessantly, his father is abusive, and his mother is cold and indifferent. The local naval base is closing, which is slowly destroying any dream he has of a better life; and the bond he has with his best friend, Loop, is beginning to disintegrate. Add to this Conrad's recent discovery that he is colorblind, and you get a picture of how miserable he is. Fortunately, not all is gloomy. Conrad does have a close relationship with his loving grandmother and is offered good councel by Loop's older brother, Midnight. Finally, he does manage to find some redemption through his acceptance of others. In putting all of this together, Winer offers at best a patchy bildungsroman. The novel creates so many different dilemmas, issues, and characters that focus and direction are sometimes lacking. Fortunately, the author does succeed to an extent in giving Conrad a sympathetic and natural voice. David Hellman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A good read
This book is interesting and a good read. Characters in the book are well developed throughout the story and create a sense of reality for the reader. I would highly recommend those who read this book to read the whole book at once so they don't forget important details throughout the story and grasp the full meaning of this book.

Good book
I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of some aspects of my own childhood (parents not getting along, father getting drunk and swearing, feeling alone in the world, unhappy about family life). At first I thought it was a bit slow but then it picked up (not too far into it) and never lost my attention after that. The author keeps an even pace between hardship and humor so one does not get depressed reading the book. The part I remember the most (and still gives me a chuckle) is when Conrad is in church (forced to go my his mother who does not attend with him). Apparently the church choir is predominately white (if not all white) and a black church choir comes to visit. Conrad is bored and not very interesetd in the strained singing of the white church choir but when the black church choir comes in with their own unique way it makes Conrad sit up and pay attention and he thinks to himself "We have a situation!" If you didn't get a chuckle out of that you'll have to read the book and see how the author described it. It is poignant.

I recommend this book. It is an easy and relativly fast read. I loaned it to my 15-year-old nephew. He has to do several book reports for school and needs something that he can read that isn't too long. I felt this was a good balance between not too long but would also hold his attention and be a pleasure to read.

Innocence and Truth
Conrad Clay, the ten-year-old protagonist of "The Color Midnight Made" is the center of his own universe...one that's slowly but inexorably going to pieces. Growing up white in a predominantly black area of San Francisco isn't easy--but "Con" is adaptable and trusting. Perhaps too trusting. As he watches his family crumble, and his relationship with his best buddy "Loop" (a derivative of "Froot Loops")grow distant, Con moves through the world like a lost soul.

Andrew Winer has created a character in Conrad equal to Holden Caulfield--a rebellious, naive and innocent young man searching for truth. "The Color Midnight Made" is darkly poetic, moving, and wonderfully told. This is a story that stays in your mind long after you've finished reading it.