Larry Neitzert
Everybody Reads
2019 E. Michigan Ave, Lansing
Dec. 17, 6 p.m.
becauseeverybodyreads.com, (517) 346-9900

Larry Neitzert holds Michigan State University so close to his heart that he made it the setting for his book, Maggie's Farm.

The Michigan native received both his B.A. and M.A. degrees at the school. After MSU, he became a teacher in the public school system, where he stayed for 31 years. Now, he's an adjunct instructor at Baker College and, most recently, a novelist.

Maggie's Farm isn't necessarily what one would dub a coming-of-age story. It's not the account of a bright-eyed freshman learning the facts of life in their first year at a brand new place. Instead, it's the story of a return.

In the late 1960s, protagonist Robert Hartman is looking to avoid the draft, wanting nothing less than to serve in Vietnam. So he goes back to school to finish the education he never had. When he arrives at MSU, Robert finds himself wondering about what he should do if he doesn't feel he's meant for the service. There are those who encourage him in his path of avoidance, and others who urge him to change. At a place like college, and at a time like senior year, Robert discovers that one cannot always discern these sorts of decisions on their own. In a way, it is a coming of age story, but don't look for bright eyes and big dreams here. This story is about the tougher parts of life, the parts where you actually have to stop and think about what comes next.

Such is the brilliance of Neitzert's prose. Maggie's Farm works as both recent historical fiction and literary fiction, giving us a fresh new protagonist and a means of finding out what differing perspectives mean for life-altering decisions. Is this debut novel a sign that Larry Neitzert, the veteran teacher and literary newcomer, is planning on penning one or maybe a few more? Upon reading Maggie's Farm, you just might have your fingers crossed about him doing so.