Review: The Carny Kid Survival of a Young Thief

Author: Kenneth Kahn

ISBN: 0976111500

The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews

The success or failure of first person accounts invariably depends on how effectual are the narrative powers of the author. How often have we read the first few pages of someone’s autobiography and grumbled- this is torture and downright boring. Such, however, is not the case with Kenneth Kahn’s The Carny Kid Survival of a Young Thief. This is a book packed to the rim with revelatory memories of the author’s painful childhood, growing up as the only Jewish kid in the project neighborhood of East Los Angeles, known as Ramona Gardens.

Kahn candidly and courageously opens up and shares his perspectives concerning his dysfunctional family that centered on his heroin addicted parents, poverty, child neglect, crime, loneliness, surviving attacks by street gangs, his bout with polio, rejection, and his touring during the summer months with his parents, who worked the annual carnival scene in various US and Canadian towns.

Perhaps, the most endearing aspect of the book is the recognition that knowledge is power, as he discovered a whole new world in books and school. As the author states: “no matter how bad things got at home or how desperately broke we were, the beautiful campus offered a safe haven. For five years, it had been my savior, my security blanket…”  It is within the confines of the school walls, where Kahn found solace from the tragic experiences he was obliged to endure.

The author’s insider information pertaining to the shocking and routine scams perpetuated on naïve customers playing the games of chance at the annual carnivals are eye openers. In fact, as Kahn points out, there were some scams that were so inherently evil that they required special permission from local law-enforcement to even set them up on the fair grounds. I doubt if these revelations will be well received by the petty thieves that operate these scams! Kahn’s no-nonsense first person account is tragically one of many, as evidenced by the thousands of cases of run-away children coming from homes similar to his.

No doubt, the narrative will captivate some readers and reduce others to tears, however, let us hope in the end an invaluable lesson will be learned- if you persevere and devote endless effort, you can achieve victories that many of us take for granted.