The Year That Didn't Exist
By Walter Smith
Short Summary
It’s 1970 and sex, drugs and rock and roll are the universal collegiate mantra. Throw in Vietnam War protests and a rigorous academic schedule and you now have the background for The Year that Didn't Exist.
The Year that Didn't Exist is a nerdy, humorous and somewhat outlandish retelling of Walter Stafford’s not so memorable sophomore year at the Tute, The Troy Institute of Technology.
His tale consists of stand-alone chapters and interconnected stories starting with his first big mistake, sharing a College Ave apartment with two roommates even nerdier than himself. This arrangement however, forces Walter to spend as little time as possible in his flat, more or less dividing his time between the Rathskeller, the campus bar, bowling alley and game room, and ill-conceived road trips.
But these forced encounters, actually become the only highlights of The Year that Didn't Exist.
One chapter details his accidental meeting, and getting stoned with Jane and Tom, celebrity activists, and the keynote speakers at a Vietnam War protest
Another chapter details how fellow Nathan Hall dormmate, Harry the Hat, introduces Walter to the world of recreational drugs, pot, hashish, and Ludes.
On a seemingly perfect late summer Saturday in Troy, just before classes are to begin, a poorly kicked football on the freshman quad results in an almost disastrous run-in with campus security.
How he meets his first girlfriend, the result of a bet, as to who would score better on an exam is thoroughly, but not graphically detailed.
And finally, the only real highlight of his meaningless year, teaming up with drug buddy Strappa and winning a collegiate bowling championship, provides a humorous, but perhaps fantasized ending to the saga.
The Year that Didn’t Exist is a narration, in Walter’s own words, of a not so memorable year, that just might transport the reader back to their college days, days that were simpler and likely filled with unbound optimism.
Barnes and Noble
The Publisher Austin Macauley
https://www.austinmacauley.com/us/book/year-didnt-exist
Amazon