The Shoeshine Boy
by Melvin Sterne
Many lives have been altered by spiritual experiences. Pablo, the shoeshine boy, has such an experience, one he assures the reader that they will not believe. And why should we? It’s a story so outlandish that Pablo scarce believes it himself.
The Shoeshine Boy is a story of individual redemption. Can Pablo, a five-year-old, illiterate orphan, survive on the streets of a hostile world? But even more, it is a novel of human redemption, contrasting the power of belief with the power of delusion, of truth with the lies we tell ourselves every day. This is a novel about faith.
More broadly, it is a tale of choices. We live in a world of dwindling resources, exploding population, and technological revolution that is threatening our existence. The question becomes not whether Pablo will survive, but whether you and I will survive—and if so, how? The values we affirm and the choices we make based on our values can seal our fate as a species.
Kurt Vonnegut once said that he wanted to stay as close to the edge as he could without going over. “Out on the edge,” he said, “you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.” His words describe The Shoeshine Boy perfectly. It will take you to the edge.
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from of Galveston, Texas.
About the Author
Melvin Sterne worked union construction for twenty years before returning to college to study creative writing, ultimately earning a Ph.D. from Florida State University. He is the author of the novels The Shoeshine Boy and Zara, as well as a short story collection, The Number You Have Reached. He currently leads a first-year English program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen Campus), but spends all the time he can in Singapore.