4/19/09

Diary of a Mad Housewife out of The Golden Bough

This web site as you know was created for my own books, old and ongoing, made wholly according to my own design. In the beginning we were deluged with book proposals from writers seeking a publisher, but finally the message got through.

Now, however, and only this once, we are publishing the work of another author. We are pleased to announce our latest title, RAPTURE, by Sallie Reynolds. To find more about her, click here.

Right now, I want to talk about the book. There are two sorts of reviews: one is of the rendering of a well-known work, such as a play or movie. The other is of a new one. My question is: how much to let out without giving away the book?

Start from generalities.

It's the idea, stupid - my mantra for this blog. The book's concept is its raison d'etre. But still it must have a story strong enough to tug the reader through. The three parts of a novel:

Setting: (Once upon a time ... )
Catalyst: (When suddenly ... )
Resolution: (And they all lived/died somehow ever after.)

Reynolds presents a small average family just getting along - mom, pop, daughter, younger son. And a gran from hell. A humdrum enough setup somewhere out amid the California canyons, nothing to write about until the mother, the narrator - we never learn her name - begins to experience strange blackouts while gathering herbs alone down in the canyons. At first, she recalls nothing from these blackouts. Gradually, memories creep in, corroborated by physical signs on her body, growing abilities she could not possibly gain by ordinary means, and all these drive her apart from her family. Pressure increases on her to conform, or at least, to seek help for her erratic behavior. The family even puts her in hospital for a while to help her shape up. In a stunning climax, with "peace of mind, all passion spent," she resolves the situation. For herself, at least.

For her family? Such is the measure of a book that argument and question linger past the final page.

The novel is short by regular standards, yet as with so many works of literary merit, it is dense and demanding of the reader.

There are many ancient myths concerning death & transfiguration/ -transmutation - transmigration, myths from ancient peoples the world over. Some such changes are permanent, others are temporary. Shamans and the like claim the ability to change back and forth at will, avoiding the final transition. Such changes are termed magic, others are more a private, spiritual nature. In my novel, Collidescope, Sky-fire-trail, a Delaware Indian, undergoes his huskenaw and becomes the muskrat who saved the world. There are such stories set in modern times. I recall one such written in the UK of a postman who wished to become a willow tree and finally made it.

This book has to do with this subject. But I warn you: don't cruise through the pages looking to the payoff. If you do, you'll miss the final punch. How do I know? I hardly cruised through this work. I edited it, and proofed it, and set it up into final book form and only at that point did the last few pages hit home. Reach that layer of understanding and you have a book that not only will demand to be read again and again but you will be arguing its outcome forever!

The book is listed on Amazon. You'll find it via our store link at the top of the page. Strawblue also lists it in her Amazon store, as usual. It's in the Kindle store as well. A good start for a very fine work!