Discussion January 10, 2006

In our discussion of midwestern literature we included the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota.

We found that books set in the Midwest paid more attention than other books to the weather, be it snow, cold, or drought. There was a strong sense of isolation for small townsand for the individual. The land had a strong pull on the characters, but this pull was not always positive, as in the case of children called home to farm or unable to leave because of a tie to a farm they were not interested in. In other books characters did not fare as well when they cut their connection to the land.

Characters were not so much loners as lonely or bored and longing for a connection with others. The connection they managed to make was not always a sanctioned one. We never read so many books in which affairs flourished. Family ties were often a struggle, although people may have cared deeply for each other. In the happier books we

read, people managed to create their own family unit among friends. Religion was often present as a narrow, limiting type of faith that saw the world in black and white. In other books religion was present more in the strong moral sense of many of the characters (presumably not the ones having the affairs).

Although some of the books were set in or alluded to middling sized cities, many of the books were set in small towns. A sort of prejudice was present in some of the books in the sense that these were very homogeneous communities, and any outsider was immediately suspect. Native Americans were present in a few of the books, and there was definitely prejudice against them without the simultaneous romanticizing of the Native American present in books set in the West. These small towns had a social hierarchy that gave the social structure to the town. Eccentric characters and behaviors might be present, but were often hidden behind a more conformist social fa￧ade. For many characters, a sense of belonging seemed to elude them, even though they had spent a lifetime in the same spot.

In other regions there was a sense of the past: of the land (the West), the society that was there (New England), or a glorious culture (the South). In the Midwest the past seemed to be limited to that of the characters themselves.

The writing in these books was generally straightforward. Humor, when present, was integrated into the writing and was not overabundant. Humor that was present tended to be gentle and self-deprecating. The tone of the books was melancholy, regretful, or nostalgic. A sense of change was present as suburbs ate up farmland outside of cities or box stores replaced local businesses.

What we read:

Amick, Steve, The Lake, the River, and the Other Lake, 2005
In the Michigan resort town of Weneshkeen on Lake Michigan, townies, wealthy summer home owners, and summer tourists mingle, not always easily. During one summer, a retired minister must face his demons, a dotcom ex-millionaire must face bankruptcy and a local swim coach a rages one man assault attacks against all local jet skis. As grim as this may sound, there is much gentle humor in this book and a sense of the friction and accommodation the characters go through to get along.
Debbie Wordinger, Indian Prairie Public Library

Ansay, A. Manette, Midnight Champagne,1999
After a four-month romance, April and Caleb prepare to exchange their vows on Valentine's Day. Unsurprisingly, everyone has a comment or opinion. The Great Lakes Chapel and Hideaway Lodge, the location of the nuptials, used to be a brothel. It's so quick; maybe they have to get married? Then a blizzard hits, stranding the bride's Wisconsin relatives with the groom's Tennessee relatives, but at least there's a bar and a polka band. There is plenty of humor, but this story is less a quirky tale about a whirlwind ride to the altar and more about the complexities of love. (As April and Caleb's life together begins, we also see the marriage of another couple disintegrate into violence.) This book may be a good match for fans of Kaye Gibbons.
Jennie Milojevic, Riverside Public Library

Bauer, Douglas, The Book of Famous Iowans, 1997
Booktalk: Will Vaughn was nearly twelve when his mother, an Iowa farm wife, embarked on an affair with Bobby Markum, a pitcher from their small town baseball team, and a man that Will had idolized. Looking back on that 1957 summer from middle age, Will describes how his mother, Leanne, a beautiful 17-year old nightclub singer in Cheyenne, WY married Lewis, his serviceman father and dreamed of a glamorous life with her new husband. When Lewis' father died and he was called home to Iowa to run the family farm, Leanne quickly learned how much her new life would vary from her dreams. Years later, Will is still struggling to understand his mother's actions that summer and the impact they had on everyone involved.
Audience: Adult
Debbie Darwine, LaGrange PL

Baumbich, Charlene Ann, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out! 2004
Second of four books about the residents of Partonville, Illinois, a fictional town in northern southern Illinois. Eighty-seven year old Dorothy Wetstra, a retired band director, is a force of nature; whether driving, entertaining, praying, or just being a friend to Chicagoan Katie Durbin and her teen son Josh. Humorous and heartwarming, full of colorful characters and small town charm. Recommended for adults and young adults.
Brenda O'Brien, Woodridge Public Library

Bradbury, Ray, Dandelion Wine, 1957
A highly nostalgic, tender story of a boy growing up in a sleepy midwestern town. It's the summer of 1928 in Green Town, Illinois, and 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding is intoxicated with the sheer aliveness of the season. Douglas decides to record the summer's events in a notebook the joy of making dandelion wine with his younger brother and grandfather, the sorrow of losing a friend whose family moves away, the wisdom gained after his beloved great-grandmother dies. We also peek into the not-so-quotidian lives of other Green Town residents: Mr. Auffmann, the town jeweler, tries to build a Happiness Machine; Mrs. Brown accuses Mrs. Goodwater of using black magic to win elections at the Honeysuckle Ladies Lodge; Lavinia Nebbs encounters a notorious murderer known as The Lonely One. Bradbury based Green Town on his memories of growing up in Waukegan, Illinois. This short, wistful novel brims with local details and universal truths along with evocative descriptions of screeching cicadas and thick prairie grass, there are moving meditations on the nature of change, the power of good and evil, and the ultimate beauty and magic of life.
Annabelle Mortensen, Hinsdale Public Library

Brock, Pope Indiana Gothic, 1999
Almost 100 years ago in southern Indiana, Pope Brock's great-grandfather, Ham Dillon, was killed by the husband of his mistress. Brock imagines the course of the affair, the fateful day Ham was shot, and the aftermath of a sensational murder trial. Ham, a well-known and popular politician, didn't just have an affair with another woman; he had an affair with his wife's sister, which resulted in a child. Before succumbing to his wounds (he was shot 5 times), he enjoyed the town's support and prayers, even as they gossiped about his indiscretion. The characters are vividly drawn without being sentimental caricatures. Also a great piece of historical fiction, this novel illustrates life in a small farming community. Completely absorbing and highly recommended.
Jennie Milojevic, Riverside Public Library

Cather, Willa My Antonia, 1918
She still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that somehow revealed the meaning in common things. Passionate, strong and independent, Antonia Shimerda comes alive in Cather's classic novel of hardship and triumph on the Nebraska plains. The story is told by Jim Burden, Antonia's childhood friend, who first meets the girl after she and her family have emigrated from Bohemia to Nebraska. Over the years, Jim observes Antonia's indefatigable spirit as she confronts poverty, her father's suicide, years of strenuous labor, and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. While the story's scattered plotting and measured pace have put off some readers, countless others have been enchanted by Cather's poetic language and her emotional portrayal of the immigrant experience.
Annabelle Mortensen, Hinsdale Public Library

Cather, Willa, My Antonia, 1918
A story of the land as much as it is about its character, My Antonia abounds with sweeping, poetic descriptions of the pioneer life of the Midwest. Cather paints a vivid backdrop to the story Jim Burden relates of the young Bohemian immigrant, Antonia Shimerda. Jim recreates their childhood and youth spent in Black Hawk, Nebraska in the 1880s describing the tremendous hardships and the tentative triumphs of life on the plains.
Tammy Klausen, Berwyn Public Library

Clement, Alison, Pretty Is As Pretty Does, 2001
Booktalk: Twenty-something Lucy Fooshee Bybee thinks that her life is going exactly the way it's supposed to. She's been married for three weeks to Bob Bybee, the second-richest farmer in Palmyra (a local beauty queen, she could have had the richest, but didn't like his last name) and she's ready to begin redecorating the Bybee family home. Then she sits down one day at Aunt Babe's Caf￩, and gets a look at Billy Lee, the new counter man, and Lucy knows that her life will never be the same. Billy's a stranger to her central Illinois town (he's from all over), and Lucy's attraction to him causes her to behave in ways that scandalize her conservative community, where propriety and social standing are of prime importance. Told in first-person by conceited but funny Lucy; a fast read.
Audience: Adult, YA
Debbie Darwine, La Grange PL

Collins, Michael, Lost Souls, 2004
On Halloween night in a rural town in Indiana, a terrible accident occurs in which a young girl dressed in an angel costume is a victim of a hit and run accident. Police Officer Lawrence discovers the body of the child under a pile of leaves. The prime suspect is Kyle Johnson, the star of the football team, who is about to lead the town to a championship game. This game is the only good thing to happen for a long time in a town which has lost most of its factories and industry. Lawrence is drawn into a plot, with the mayor and the police chief, to cover up the facts of the crime to protect Kyle for the good of the town.
Sharon Lorenzi, Berwyn Public Library

Enger, Leif, Peace Like a River, 2001
With tall-tale enthusiasm, asthmatic 11-year-old Ruben Land tells the story, set in Minnesota during the 1960s, of the resilience of family loyalty and the power of miracles. When Ruben's older brother Davy escapes after killing two violent boys harassing the family, they head for the Badlands in North Dakota after him. Along with his miracle performing father and poet sister, Rueben undergoes a journey exploring moral character, faith and miracles, and the redemptive power of love.
Tammy Klausen, Berwyn Public LIbrary

Fiffer, Sharon, Buried Stuff, 2004
Jane Wheel, an antiques picker whose house is overburdened with collectibles, holds the world's shortest garage sale, due to a frantic phone call from her parents. Jane, geologist husband Charley and son Nick, help unravel the mystery of bones found in a field, while Jane's friend Tim is helping organize the world's largest garage sale in Kankakee. Fourth Jane Wheel mystery. Jane is imperfect and appealing, as are her friends and family. Recommended for adults.
Brenda O'Brien, Woodridge Public Library Fluke, Joanne, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, 2000
First Hannah Swensen cozy culinary mystery, set in fictional Lake Eden, Minnesota. The autumn days are nippy, but Hannah's cookie and coffee shop is warm and inviting, at least until a delivery man is murdered behind the bakery. Hannah is bossed by her cat, nagged by her mother, and is urged by her sister to investigate the murder, with the help of two very different admirers. Recommended for adults.
Brenda O'Brien, Woodridge Public Library

Harper, Karen, Down to the Bone, 2000
This book is part of Harper's Maple Creek series that features mysteries set in Ohio Amish country. The story starts with Rachel Mast finding her husband dead in the barn. Rachel has an uneasy feeling that Sam's death was not an accident but he was murdered, but it is not the Amish way to push for more investigation over the matter. Over time, Rachel decides to work and save her farm for her twin five-year-old boys. However, this is not easy task due to pressures from her community, church, and family to marry again, and her unwillingness to enter into another marriage. Very quickly, strange occurrences are taking place on the farm such as Rachel's dead husband's hat is found hanging on a peg in the barn, the horses are harnessed in Sam's particular manner, and the twins believe that thay are seeing Sam at night in the barn, and that their father has come back to life. All of these things further arouse Rachel's suspicions concerning her husband's death. Rachel is struggling to make ends meet and decides to sell some extra produce and baked goods with her non-Amish neighbor, Jennie. Jennie and her husband have been estranged since the disappearance of their daughter ten years ago at a dance held in what is now Rachel's barn. Rachel also meets Mitch Randall, a carpenter who restores old barns, and he asks Rachel for permission to work on her barn. The two hit it off and slowly a romantic relationship develops between the two, and Mitch decides to help Rachel find out what happened the night her husband died. This story has good character development, a heartfelt romance, and a setting that few of us have much insight into.
Lisa Korajczyk, Richton Park Public Library

Haruf, Kent, Plainsong, 1999 and Eventide, 2004
These beautiful, spare novels take place in the plains of eastern Colorado. Both center around two elderly ranchers, the McPheron brothers, who have never married and still live in the house they grew up in. When, in Plainsong, they take in a homeless, pregnant teenager, they begin to form an extended family as their lives begin to intersect with others. Eventide continues the tale, as the ripple effect of small town interactions spreads further. The isolation of life in the plains, and the necessity for reliance on others, are wonderfully expressed in Haruf's subtle prose.
Nancy Bent, La Grange Public Library

Hassler, John, North of Hope, 1990
A young man enters the priesthood in northern Minnesota, and after twenty years wonders if he had made the right decision. As a high school student shortly after WWII, Frank Healy fell in love with one of his schoolmates. She married a local farmer, though, and Frank went on with his plans to enter the priesthood. Now twenty years later he is back as the parish priest in his home town, and when his old flame turns to him for love and support, Frank struggles with deciding what his life should be. This novel is strong on characterization and on evoking the weather and landscape of northern Minnesota.
Debbie Wordinger, Indian Prairie Public Library

Hautman, Pete, The Mortal Nuts, 1996
Axel, 73, lives at the Motel 6 even though he has $260,000 stashed in coffee cans. He travels to fairs across the states and operates his very profitable taco stand. The Minnesota State Fair, however, is his most lucrative, so he hires his sometimes lover Sophia as manager and her less-than-upstanding daughter, Carmen, to work the stand. Unlike in the past, this year Carmen's skin-head boyfriend, James Dean, follows her hoping to get the cans. Every time it looks like the old man will fall victim, he surprises the reader and the characters in the story. Frustrated by never finding the money, Dean instead mugs Axel's long time friend, Tommy Fabian, aka Tiny Tot, named for his famous Donut stand at the fair. Dean gets six grand, Tiny Tot's receipts for one day at the fair, and lands Tommy in the hospital. Tommy's no fool and returns to his stand with a colt .45, and when Dean reappears, he points the gun at him. One of Dean's new drug dealing friends, huge Sweety, charges Tommy, the gun goes off, and Tommy is hurled in the air breaking his neck on landing. Sweety's down on the ground, bleeding from the gunshot wound. By now Dean has the gun he stole from Axel out but can't release the safety. Axel goes after Dean, wrestles his gun back, and seeing Tommy's ring on his finger, beats Dean's head with the butt of the gun. High on drugs, Dean runs, but his ride takes off with Dean's leather jacket in the back seat, filled with the stolen money. Dean and his buddies don't relent and a final showdown occurs at the Motel 6.
Vivid depiction of behind the scenes in the eating arena of a state fair.
Linda Conrath, Orland Park Public Library

Kurtz, Don, South of the Big Four, 1995
Indiana farm country, just south of the big four railroad tracks is the setting for the story of Arthur Conason's return to his family's farm after a period of working ore boats on the Great Lakes. Living in his family's abandoned farmhouse (which he slowly rehabilitates) as he works as a hired hand for the go-getter farmer who now works the land, Arthur's drift through life finally begins to set a course. Author Kurtz writes with a very strong sense of place and feel for the rhythm of farm life.
Nancy Bent, La Grange Public Library

Landvik, Lorna, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, 2003
This is the story of five different women and their friendship over a thirty-year period in Minneapolis, MN. We see the suburban life through each woman's eyes between the 1960s to the 1990s. This group builds its relationship through the neighborhood's book discussion group, and we grow to see each individual's quirks, sorrows and strengths. The different characters of the book reflect different types of women that you are likely to meet throughout your life. There is Faith, the housewife with a terrible past; Audrey, the sexpot; Kari, the mother figure; Slip, the social activist; and Merit, the secretly abused wife. Landvik creates real and fully developed characters with the right touch of humor and gravitas. This book will make you laugh out loud and think about your own personal friendships and how we can depend on these people to get us through the hard times. Each chapter of the book starts with the title of a book discussion book and the reason why that character chose that particular book. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons is a wonderful and funny read and Landvik hits the mark every time with this book.
Lisa Korajczyk, Richton park Public Library

Landvik, Lorna, The Tall Pine Polka, 1999
Nestled in remote woods of northern Minnesota, the town of Tall Pine may be tiny, but it has more than its fair share of eccentrics. These tight-knit oddballs regularly converge at the Cup O'Delight, the homey caf￩ owned by Lee O'Leary, an heiress on the run from her abusive ex-husband. There's Lee's best friend Fenny Ness, the young owner of the bait and tackle shop who still mourns her dead parents; Slim, a Vietnam vet who literally barks like a dog; the biracial lesbian couple Miss Penk and Frau Katte; and Mary Gore, an aspiring artist known for her howlingly bad poetry (Dusty, dangerous roads, all leading to the acrid/vicinity of my heart). Soon, two events turn Tall Pine upside down. First, a Hollywood film crew arrives and casts Fenny in the lead role of Ike and Inga, a romantic comedy about a Norwegian mail order bride. Then, Fenny and Lee both fall for the same man, a handsome musician named Big Bill. Landvik is adept at juggling wacky characters and laugh-out-loud situations with pathos and heart; her lively writing should appeal to fans of Fannie Flagg, Sandra Dallas and Jan Karon.
Annabelle Mortensen, Hinsdale Public Library

Lehrer, James, Flying Crows, 2004
When an old railway station is being renovated an old man is found living in a former restaurant storeroom. The man says he has been living there since the 1930s when he ran away from the state insane asylum, a facility that has been closed for decades. A local policeman takes it upon himself to find the man's true history and in so doing uncovers the history of Kansas City, the care of the mentally ill, and Missouri's bloody Civil War past. The book plays with the idea of who is really insane and what is the essence of who we really are. The book gives a good feeling for the rough and tumble feel of Kansas City and the border state sensibility of the state.
Debbie Wordinger, Indian Prairie Library

McNeal, Tom, Goodnight, Nebraska, 1998
Randall Hunsacker arrives in the small town of Goodnight, Nebraskaa town that is both his punishment (after a family blow-up) and his possible salvation. We follow Randall's story as he is absorbed into the rhythms of the town, as he both fails and succeeds, and as he finds the girl of his dreams. The human foibles of his neighbors and rivals are part of Randall's tale, particularly those of his girlfriend's mother. A wonderful first novel that grabs the reader from the first page.
Nancy Bent, La Grange Public Library

Moriarty, Laura, The Center of Everything, 2003
Evelyn Bucknow is a young girl growing up in a small town in Kansas with her single mother, Tina. Tina is dating her married boss, but he skips town when she becomes pregnant with his child, who is born severely retarded. Evelyn's grandmother, a religious conservative, visits every week and, for a while, she greatly influences Evelyn's views of the world. As Evelyn gets older, her views on good and evil begin to change and, with the guidance of several teachers, she is encouraged to go to college and make a better life for herself. This was a wonderful coming of age story.
Sharon Lorenzi, Berwyn Public Library

Reardon, Lisa, The Mercy Killers, 2004
P.T. and Charlie live with their grandfather, Old Jerry, who just before his 70th birthday party asks P.T. to put him out of his misery. P.T. is the older of the two, but lacking mentally due to the beatings he regularly received from his abusive father after their mother died. After P.T. obliges Charlie helps him toss the body in the river. Charlie takes the rap for his brother and opts for Vietnam instead of prison. He comes home a changed man, married to the girl who wrote him regularly in Nam, haunted by his memories and old girlfriend who bore his child while he was away. P.T. has grown a bit more independent, and once again obliges a woman friend who wants to escape her life. Again Charlie tries to protect P.T. and sets up someone else (a friend who, in the past, saved these boys from their wicked father) for the murder. A conversation is overheard, and an old friend who has also returned from Nam shows P.T. pictures of the horrors Charlie tried to shelter him from and asks him if he wants Charlie to have to return. With this P.T. turns himself in and is placed in a psychiatric hospital. Other relationships grow and change, as the sad story of P.T.(part-time punching bag, as his father called him) gently unfolds, back to his happy days when his mother was alive all the way up to the day she died. Eventually everyone finds their place in life.
Linda Conrath, Orland Park Public Library

Reynolds, Marjorie, Starlite Drive In, 1997
This book opens with developers finding human bones in a closed down drive-in in Jessup, Indiana. There is a call to Callie Anne from her Aunt Bliss announcing the news because Callie Anne and her family had once lived at the drive-in because her father was the one time manager of the facility. Callie goes to the scene and instantly recognizes some of the identifying items on the body as belonging to Charlie Memphis, a handyman who worked for her father in the summer of 1956, when Callie was 12 years old. The setting is switched to the pivotal summer when Callie has her first crush and her mother finds love with the kind, sensitive drifter. Callie's father is harsh in his treatment of Callie and her mother, and blames his wife's agoraphobia for keeping him in the small Indiana town when his dreams were so much larger. However, Charlie Memphis and Teal, Callie's mother, develop a relationship, and he eventually coaxes her out of the house. Callie is torn in her crush on Charlie, her loyalty to her father, and her jealousy and love for her mother. Eventually, Callie's father recognizes what is happening to his family and decides to set Charlie up as a thief, and remove him from their lives. Teal and Charlie decide to leave with Callie and start a new life. However, one night Charlie doesn't show up for Teal, and she believes that he decided to start a new life without her. The reader is flashed to the present where Callie decides to tell her mother that Charlie's bones were found at the drive-in and that Teal's husband probably killed Charlie to keep him away from his family. Teal won't believe that it's Charlie's bones at the drive-in and that he must be alive and living happily somewhere out in the world.
Lisa Korajczyk, Richton Park Public Library

Rusch, Sheldon, For Edgar, 2005
The rush to apprehend a serial killer obsessed with the most violent aspects of Edgar Allan Poe's work fuels this flawed mystery. It is difficult to appreciate the midwestern setting (McHenry County and Wilmette), which is never really used as an element. This is a very quick read with very short chapters. Illinois State Police Special Agent Elizabeth Taylor Hewitt follows some very creative Poe based clues to catch the killer known as The Raven before he kills his next victim. I loved the premise and the great use of Poe's work, but ultimately was disappointed in the execution. I would still recommend it to patrons who enjoy crime thrillers and to fans of Poe.
Jennie Milojevic, Riverside Public Library

Simpson, Mona, Off Keck Road, 2000
Booktalk: This lyrical, poignant novel covers approximately forty years in the lives of loosely connected residents of Green Bay, WI. Wealthy Bea Maxwell leaves town after college to begin a career in Chicago, but is called back to care for her aging parents. Younger Shelley, from the prefab subdivision on Keck Road, is the only person in Green Bay to contract polio. Both eventually work for charming, married jazz fan Bill Alberts, Bea as a realtor in his agency and Shelley as a caregiver in his later years. Bea's life is notable for things that don't quite happen to her. Shelley's, on the other hand, goes in directions that she never imagined. The author does a wonderful job of describing changes in a typical midwestern town over the second half of the 20th century.
Audience: Adult
Debbie Darwine, LaGrange PL

Sittenfeld, Curtis, Prep, 2005
Telling her story with hindsight clarity, this is a coming-of-age story of 14-year-old Fiora Lee. Leaving South Bend, Indiana to attend a prestigious school in late 1980s Boston, Fiora posses a midwesterner's level head and observes what it is like to be a scholarship student thrust into a culture of privilege. Fiora Lee's narrative describes the transcendental experience of adolescence and the alienation of an outsider searching for acceptance, the complicated relationships that develop with teachers, conflicts with her parents, the development of friendships, and the ambiguous nature of the relationship with the boy of interest.
Tammy Klausen, Berwyn Public Library

Waller, Robert James, The Bridges of Madison County, 1992
Robert Kincaid is in Iowa photographing the covered bridges of Madison County for National Geographic. There he has a chance meeting with Francesca Johnson, the wife of an Iowa farmer and mother of two teenaged children. This meeting and the four days they spend together changes both of their lives forever. Though they never see each other again, they keep every memory of their four days together in their minds and hearts for the rest of their lives and never lose their feelings of love for each other. This is a bittersweet story of true love that is found by two lonely people, but is given up for the sake of family responsibility.
Sharon Lorenzi, Berwyn Public Library

Wilson, Robley, The World Still Melting, 2005
The lives of the Toblers, Arlene and Paul, the Rikers, Harvey and Nance and Burton Stone become forever entangled in this Iowa farm town. When Harvey suspects Stone and his wife are having an affair, he brandishes his gun and kills Paul accidentally. With Harvey in prison, Nance and Stone are married and purchase the Tobler farm. Several break ins and acts of vandalism spur Stone into setting a trap with a gun loaded with buckshot, only to be triggered by the Tobler's son, who stopped by the abandoned house to sleep on his way to pay his mother an unexpected visit. Stone presses break and enter charges against Peter, and Peter afterwards wins a civil suit for damages done to his leg. Strong issues such as guns, a man's right to protect his property, animal rights, Vietnam war veterans, and the morality of attorneys and their fees are all subtly addressed. The life of a tree, and the temperature and sweetness/bitterness of a cup of coffee, are only two examples of literary symbolism that are woven into the story.
Linda Conrath, Orland Park Public Library