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Date: 10/30/2023
LONGMEADOW — When Fred Sokol, 76, retired in 2014, this erstwhile theater director wondered how to script the next scenes in his life. He then came up with a novel idea. He began writing books, three so far with a fourth due to be self-published around Thanksgiving.
“I have the acuity right now to write books. I also think I’m getting better with every book, and that has encouraged me to do more,” said the Longmeadow writer and former theater director at Bay Path University.
Sokol’s 250-page, softcover book, “Harry,” finds the title character working as a census taker in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1970.
“Harry is a long-haired, hippie-type of character. The story begins there, and it ends up where Harry is in his early 60s and he’s having memory issues,” said Sokol.
“It’s a complicated story, probably the most complex novel I’ve written because it’s an interface of several threads of storytelling. Harry is the primary focal point, but there’s a lot of other stuff going on,” according to the author.
The young census taker counts on many people in his life. First is his high school sweetheart.
“He’s a young guy and he’s very much involved with this woman who will become his wife. The beginning of the book has to do with their coming together,” revealed Sokol.
When Harry met Carolyn, they decided to quit the mayhem of Manhattan and pursue a quieter life somewhere else. “They’re sent by a good friend and confidant to Moab, Utah, where they get married. Then the story becomes one of family and relationships,” said Sokol.
The couple enjoy the warm and easy southwestern lifestyle and the beauty of places like Arches National Park. They have children, two girls who, like most siblings, alternate between being friends and rivals. They look and act nothing alike. One is an aspiring actress, the other is a high school track star. One stays in Utah, the other moves to Brooklyn, New York.
“One of them has a boyfriend, whom she trusts and adores. The other has a boyfriend, whom she wishes to dispatch elsewhere. It all comes together, and they remain close,” said Sokol.
The story doesn’t focus so much on what Harry does for a living — he was a journalist for a while — but it does examine his metamorphosis from a kid in his 20s to a man losing his memory 40 years later. And he worries what’s happening to himself.
“He’s beginning to question who he is and thinks he’s losing it a bit. He turns back to an early mentor, this guy he met when he was 22 years old who’s an eccentric musician. He feels music can be therapy for Harry and what ails him,” said Sokol.
Harry takes his friend’s advice and begins working in a northern New Jersey jazz club, not as a musician but as part of the team that runs the club.
“He’s in an administrative position. He’s not a musician but he hangs out with them,” said Sokol.
“Music is a component of the novels I write. There’s a music theme running through this, in that he was influenced by an eclectic musician,” said Sokol.
Harry enjoys working in the club, but his memory never does get better, and the family worries about him. “Everybody is concerned about Harry and what’s going on with him. He’s very worried too,” said Sokol.
The book is about family, friendships and watching people live and evolve together. There are several subplots that converge to tell the story and make a point about aging and memory loss.
“It’s an issue for anybody who lives to a certain age. I noticed friends of mine are having those issues. I think about it a lot. For some people, that’s what you fear the most,” he said.
Sokol thought a great deal about what he’d do in retirement. He turned to writing because he said he was always good at it. When this married father of two sons quit directing plays and writing newspaper features on films and the theater, he had the time and space to pursue his dream of becoming a novelist.
“My desk is filled with one project after another, it’s like it’s all stored up. I am kind of a storytelling type,” he said. “That’s what I do with my grandkids and writing. I invent these amazingly imaginative stories.”
“Harry” will be available on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com toward the end of November. There will be electronic and softcover versions of the book, which will retail for $18.99.