Drops on the Water

Drops on the Water is a book about the childhood experiences of a father and son, and their gradual entrance into adulthood. It traces the similarities and differences between distinct generations in their unique geographical environments. From the suburbs and fairgrounds of the United States to the majesty and beauty of the Swiss Alps, from a beach in Nicaragua to a gum plantation in Zululand, these stories jump between Europe and America, east and west coast, and the African continent. They trace the inheritance of World War II, of German nationality, of the shock of a friend’s suicide to a classmate’s overdose. The anxieties of early love and rural small town life are balanced against changes seen in the familial sphere across generations. Apartheid inequities, corporal punishment in strict prep schools, a friend’s illicit affair with an African maid, hitchhiking barefoot, and a scheduled Ping-Pong match with the Prince of Liechtenstein, all coalesce in a book that brings to life the circumstances that bind its authors to history, family, generation, and place. ADVANCE PRAISE: “These simultaneously personal, yet universal, utterly recognizable incidents have been delivered to the page with perspicacity, humor, and a poet’s eye.” – Glen Berger, award-winning playwright, winner of two Emmys and author of Song of Spider-Man, The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History