Category: Stu’s Reviews

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Howard Frank Mosher

Title: Waiting for Teddy Williams

Review: after three of his books, I am now convinced that Mosher surpasses all other living writers, as the reigning King of Vermont and New England-centric literature (yes, even surpassing Steven King). This is another in his series on fictional Kingdom County in far remote Vermont (really the Northeast Kingdom)- and it’s a humdinger. I suppose having some interest in baseball makes the book more accessible, but even if you don’t…it’s keeper. Young EA (Ethan Allen,…you get the picture) lives with his mother Gypsy Lee and his Gran. Mom runs a one person and legendary escort service in the NE kingdom, and Gran is a gun toting “Mammy” type who has not walked since the 1978 shot heard round the world, when the Yankees’ Bucky Dent hit a ninth inning pop fly home run to send the hated ones to the world series over the beloved Red Sox. This book is both a coming of age story and tribute to the fierce will of northern New Englanders (not to be confused with ,say, Connecticut types). And, yes, there is an actual Teddy Williams, though not the Red Sox immortal outfielder. Grand ol’ Opry tunes from Gypsy, lunatic homicidal bothers on the loose, the biggest excavating machine in the world and the taking statue of the real Colonel Ethan Allen all come together to make this a subtly hilarious read. Vermont loves Mosher….and I’m getting there.

Genre: Book

Grade: B+

Notable People: Archer Mayor

Title: Bury the Lead

Review: In the 28th book in the extraordinarily long -running Joe Gunther series (28 years- since Archer produces a book each year….every October), Archer takes some major turns with his loyal cast of characters. As always, the books are wonderful representations of a wide swath of Vermont life. Archer’s sense of place remains amongst the very best in modern fiction. His long consistent group of characters that support and conflict with Joe around the fictional Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) continue to be complex and engaging…..especially the legendary Willy Kunkle and the now love-interest Dr. Beverly Hillstrom, the state medical examiner. And, Arche is a talented and thoughtful write, using the mystery genre to also reflect on much of the human condition. Despite all those qualities, I thought this his weakest book in some time. The plot meandered back and forth, hardly believable in places and got wrapped up in a too neat bow at the end. I was disappointed in this offering, but still would not have missed it for the great characters and sense of place- my grade is elevated by those factors.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Anita Shreve

Title: Light on Snow

Review: I wandered into the local library to return a book and found this one on the shelf-liked the cover and the title-so gave it a try. Shreve is apparently prolific and very well thought of based on the reviews. I really liked this book and read it in three days. This is the story of an abandoned baby found in the woods in northern New Hampshire by a grieving father and daughter as told by the twelve year old daughter-and Shreve nails the dialog of a young girl- both inner and outer. Most of the story takes place in their 150 year old farmhouse during a blizzard, and I found it riveting and extremely well written. Will be investigating more of this author.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Howard Frank Mosher

Title: Northern Borders

Review: this is my second work from Mosher-a legend in Vermont writing. This 1994 novel is the looking back story of six year old Austin Kittredge, who, after his mother’s untimely death comes to live with his aged grandparents in Lost Hollow Nation in Kingdom county- a barely veiled reference to Vermont’s great and wild Northeast Kingdom. Through his childhood in the late 40s and early 5os, Austin recalls a lost way of life in this remote outpost along the Canadian border, with his larger than life grandparents who have been feuding for over fifty years. Grandpa is an old style woodsman who spends most of the time in a hidden camp high up in the woods and pines for his youth as surveyor of the very far northern frontier of North America. Grandma long ago retreated to a parlor (in between fifteen hours a day of farm chores) where she has recreated her shrine to a fanciful Egypt, The characters in the book are mesmerizing and the setting is a paean and wonderful portrait of a lost time in our history. Mosher’s writing is full of dry and ironic wit and the end of the book is transformative. Mosher is really growing no me and is somewhat a revelation. Lots more to read.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-/B+

Notable People: Howard Frank Mosher

Title: The Fall of the Year

Review: Mosher is the novel laureate of Vermont…a living legend in these parts…who I knew of but had somehow never read before. After 20 pages, in was thinking he and I were not a match. But, I stuck it out and the book and his style really grew on me. A little bit of Mark Twain in the most remote part of Vermont…the great Northeast Kingdom. Mosher has created a thinly veiled Kingdom County and the surroundings are all very familiar for this part of the world. This is apparently his autobiographical novel (1999) and it is a rich story centered around a young man and his adoptive priest father- the “greatest scholar and third baseman in the history of The Kingdom”-who has spent his life writing a “A Short History of Kingdom County” (now at 5000 pages!!). Full of fortune tellers, circus folk, mystical Quebecois and trout fishing….it is a quaint picture of life in remote Vermont in the 1950s. I’ll be giving Mosher some more attention going forward…he is pretty prolific.

Genre: Film

Grade: A-

Notable People: Tessa Thompson, Lily James, Luke Kirby, James Badge Dale, Directed by: Nia DeCosta

Title: Little Woods

Review: Made the one hour schlep up to Dartmouth to the art theater to get our monthly adult movie fix…and worth it. Quiet, very dark movie about two down and out sister trying to get by in oil boom North Dakota. They find themselves falling into the illegal world of the cross-border drug trade ingot Canada after their mother dies. Very real, non- glamorous movie about average people getting in over their heads in drug peddling for survival reasons, and the dark world that surrounds this business- no glory, no super heroes, no happy endings or violent shoot outs. The characters are very well developed and the two leads (Thompson, who wrote the film and James) are excellent. This is a sleeper worth seeing.