Sarah Stonich

While I enjoyed the writing, notably the landscape descriptions,
the early movie and book references to the author and her father's beloved GONE WITH THE WIND,
with its racism and brutal African American stereotyping is horrifying.

As well, her personal comment "Do I need to know more about the Civil War than is in
GONE WITH THE WIND...? begs the obvious...unless Stonich is a closet right white supremely
lost thinker, YES, SHE DOES!

The only reason I kept reading through this seemingly endless and plodding tale of financial and workload woe
was to see if she'd redeem any of this. Alas, non.

Last visit to this formerly all liked author.… (mehr)

The settings and minor characters carry this book.

Liselle travels to Mexico with her archeologist husband, then falls in love and has sex with Charlie, the resident painter. She flaunts her affair, allows him to paint her naked (what DID she think he would DO
with his paintings - bury them in the sand?), humiliates her husband and totally embarrasses and alienates her son.

Aside from her "external beauty," why was any man attracted to her...certainly not for her needy character or for her ridiculous and cruel refusal to ask or pay owners to feed the cruelly tethered parrots.

She and Charlie make a great match - how sweetly vulgar of him to expose another man's wife at his painting exhibit in the town where her son and husband live.

Rey's death was more needless pathos.… (mehr)

A very enjoyable story with engaging characters who deal with their problems and try to come to terms with life. As a Wisconsinite, it was great to read about a classic north woods community. Stonich fully develops 3 characters, yet none of the others are flat space-fillers.
Alpo is about to marry Sissy, after mourning his first wife for 20 years. He is concerned about his son, Pete, who has a drinking problem. Sissy and her sister work hard in the family restaurant and worrying about their mother with Alzheimer's. The small community knows everything about the other residents, but also tend to watch out for each other also.… (mehr)

Aside from the taxidermy, this is the best Sarah Stonich book I've had every night on the couch pleasure to read.

So many things - from one of the most memorable opening chapters ever to the lake and forest and sky descriptions
to the many distinct and well defined characters to the gently always moving along story to the oddly awkward ending -
make this book one to keep and read again, with the wish that it could go on forever...and that my daughter and I
could vacation in Nalidi!

What I wish was different is the house built so high > it will be impossibly dangerous in the winter and anytime for a dog and a painter as they age.… (mehr)