A first novel that strains for profundity as a young husband explores the meaning of love and death after his wife flees to the Canadian woods. Though set in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as down-to-earth a place as is likely to be found, Schultz’s tale, often rendered in long, lyrical riffs, is only lightly tethered to the real world. Myths, religious beliefs, and moments of magic realism—a talking pigeon offers advice and comment—drive the most significant elements of the story, which begins when Tom Styll’s wife, Constance, flees with their baby son, Teddy, to live in the north woods with her father, Ned Gasper. Constance, like her father, is obsessed with the deteriorating environment, the death of civilization, and all the apocalyptic worries that impel similarly sensitive folk to live in heatless cabins with outdoor privies. Poor Tom, a former civil engineer who once dreamed of building biospheres on the moon and is now reduced to writing instruction manuals, is still recovering from the death of his parents in an airplane crash. He loves Constance, who reads philosophy for solace, but he’s also of a more optimistic temperament, finding consolation in work, golf, and friends. Constance, meanwhile, shows no signs of returning, and so—at the pigeon’s suggestion—Tom reluctantly consults the mysterious and unmarried Maggie Fowler, an attractive if eccentric attorney with six children of differing paternities. Tom receives lots of other and varying counsel from friends and his brothers (one is a priest at the Vatican, the other a geologist), but Maggie’s advice carries the most weight. She finally persuades the still troubled Tom, after many deep talks and a near-seduction, to ride off into the sunset with her on a visit to a mythical place where all will be made clear. An ambitious but muddled tale that tries but fails to create a convincingly modern myth of redemption.
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-9657639-0-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Permanent Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998
An excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.
A woman refuses to be with her soul mate, but life intervenes, making her choice harder and more heartbreaking.
Josh meets Kristen with a bang, literally, when she slams on her brakes and he runs into her. There's minimal damage, so she disappears. Minutes later they discover that their best friends are engaged to each other and they were slated to meet that day at the fire station where Brandon and Josh work. Josh is immediately smitten, but Kristen has a boyfriend, Tyler, who’s deployed overseas. Counting down the days until he gets home for good, Kristen adamantly puts Josh in the friend zone, refusing to acknowledge their growing closeness and her spiking attraction. Then Tyler reenlists, effectively breaking up with her. Kristen and Josh sleep together, but she slams the door on his hope for a real relationship, telling him it will never be more than a friends-with-benefits situation. Josh thinks Kristen is mourning the end of her relationship with Tyler, but really, Kristen realizes Josh is her perfect match. Unfortunately she also knows Josh wants children, which would be nearly impossible for them due to her malfunctioning reproductive system. The two reach a painful impasse, but when tragedy strikes, they find themselves reevaluating their relationship. Josh knows he’ll never be happy without Kristen, but he’ll have to think outside the box to convince her to take a chance on them. Jimenez tackles a myriad of issues in her debut and hits each one with depth and sensitivity. Kristen’s take-no-prisoners attitude is smart and sassy and perfectly balanced by Josh’s easygoing resourcefulness, though at times her lack of transparency while jerking him around makes her seem more immature than self-sacrificing.
An excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5387-1560-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
A perfect blend of smart, heart-wrenching, and fun.
Two years after the tragic death of her fiance, an artist begins to heal thanks to a rock star and his dog.
Sloan Monroe is on her way to the grave of her late fiance, who was killed by a drunk driver, when she nearly hits a dog who dashed into the road. When she stops to check on him, he jumps into her car through the sunroof, and when she doesn't hear from his owner after calling the number on his collar, she decides to keep him. Jason Larsen, the dog's owner, is backpacking off the grid in Australia, and when he finally gets Sloan's voicemails nearly two weeks later, he calls her and is astonished to discover that she's had Tucker, his dog, for so long; his quasi-girlfriend was supposed to be watching Tucker but it turns out she had basically abandoned him. Since he’s still in Australia for a few weeks, Jason arranges for Sloan to keep Tucker, and through it all they text and talk and plant the seeds for a friendship, if not more. Sloan is slow and wary, even before she discovers that Jason is a musician on the cusp of star status. Still, she’s charmed by his patience and talent, and when he returns to LA, she quickly falls in love with him, his dog, and his family. Just as they’re admitting to deep feelings, he’s embarking on a long musical tour and wants her with him. It’s a grind, which she isn’t expecting, and the relationship is at odds with his label’s publicity plans, which are complicated. Plus, it keeps Sloan from pursuing her art, which she wants to explore again. Following her exceptional debut (The Friend Zone, 2019), author Jimenez has written Sloan’s story with elegant, compassionate success, showcasing a romance that navigates deep grief and healing while exploring the unexpected stressors placed on a celebrity relationship. Fans of The Friend Zone will be happy to see Kristen and Josh as Sloan’s main support system and will be touched by Jimenez’s note in the acknowledgements about her inspiration for the book.
A perfect blend of smart, heart-wrenching, and fun.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5387-1564-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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