THE MIGHTY SIX-NINETY (690)

In Cherin’s novel, four strangers aim to win $50,000 in a contest from a Southern California radio station.

In 1981, Michael Kingman is a DJ for the “Mighty 690,” a Top 40 radio station based out of San Diego. Disenchanted with the station’s new management and wanting a career change, Michael decides to hold a treasure hunt as a last hurrah before hopefully moving on to greener pastures. The station hides $50,000 and Michael discloses a new clue to his listeners each day, hinting at the money’s location. The three (ultimately four) contestants at the center of the narrative are Danny Baker, a lonely motorcycle racer who spends much of his career crashing his bike; Sally Lang, a single mother and bank teller who is stealing money from her job; and Augie Kloptman, a Holocaust survivor who relocated from New York after losing his wife, Esther. Danny has dreams of opening a mechanic shop. Sally needs the money because an auditor is coming to check up on the bank—a co-worker knows she has been embezzling, so Sally needs to cover her tracks. Augie, a janitor at a local shul, enlists the help of 14-year-old Jason Schneidman to decode the station’s clues, and the pair form an unlikely but charming partnership. What comes through most strongly in Cherin’s tale is the strange but heartwarming interconnectedness of existence, symbolized in this case by the radio. Supporting this theme are the ways in which the characters solve the station’s clues by associating the answers with memories or events in their lives (in a manner reminiscent of the film Slumdog Millionaire). Cherin’s prose is richly detailed, deftly describing the early ’80s setting as well as illustrating the specific environs of the characters: “She buttoned her blouse and walked through the dimly lit bedroom, an aroma of cigarette stains and mold wafting from the walls, and bounced her way like a pinball down the hallway...” Cherin’s story, equal parts engaging and evocative, feels human and lived in.

A thoroughly enjoyable and skillfully crafted tale.