The Paratrooper of Mechanic Avenue

Last updated
The Paratrooper of Mechanic Avenue
TheParatrooperOfMechanicAvenue.jpg
First edition
Author Lester Goran
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Houghton Mifflin
Publication date
1960
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages243
OCLC 1673143

The Paratrooper of Mechanic Avenue is the first novel by the American writer Lester Goran. It is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spans a time period from the Great Depression to the postwar era.

It tells the story of Ike-o Hartwell, born into the fictional Pittsburgh slum of Sobaski's Stairway, and how he learns to survive amid the neon glow of pawn shops and poolrooms on Mechanic Avenue peopled by racketeers, pimps, gangs, and ward heelers. Then the army drafts him for the Korean War. After a dishonorable discharge, he dresses as a paratrooper and expects a hero's s welcome back on Mechanic Avenue.

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