NEW FICTION BY MINNESOTA AUTHORS

                Minnesota is a hub of creativity, and a hotbed for writing.  Many great writers have hailed from our state, and new writers continue to publish great works.  We have so much talent that we have our own book awards.  The Minnesota Book Awards program began in 1986, and continues to display the literary talent in our state.  The Loft Literary Center provides writing courses to the general public and is one of the best literary programs in the country.

I have read many Minnesota authors and would like to share some good writing from local authors.  The following books are in the Northfield Public Library collection.

Theory of Remainders, by Scott Carpenter, opens in Boston, with psychiatrist Philip Adler trying hard to reach a teenage patient, Melanie  in a frustrating session, when he is interrupted by an emergency message that his former mother-in-law has died.  He had remained close to his mother-in-law after his divorce, and he makes the difficult journey back to France for her funeral.  Circumstances causing him to be too late for the funeral only make matters worse for him when he sees his former wife, Yvonne, and her husband.  Their daughter Sophie’s murder fifteen years earlier, and their needs to grieve differently make it very difficult for them to see each other.  In addition, Yvonne now has a young teenager daughter. 

While in France, Philip decides to uncover the truth about Sophie’s murder.  The murderer is in a mental institution for the crime, but where did he leave the body?  Did he have a motive?  Philip uses his psychiatry to work like a detective and try to determine what happened, by analyzing the suspect’s ramblings and behavior.  His  continuing sessions with Melanie via phone become intertwined with the story.  The beautiful descriptions, character development, and suspense will keep you very interested until the end.

Scott is a local Northfield writer who teaches French and Creative writing at Carleton College.  He will be giving a reading at the Northfield Public Library on Thursday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public.

 

The Healing, by Jonathon Odell begins in the 1930’s with elderly, former slave, Granada, a longtime midwife and healer, taking in terrified and abandoned seven year old Violet.  Granada lives in the old kitchen of the once imposing Satterfield Plantation.  In order to soothe the girl and explain the strange, mysterious masks that fill the mansion, Granada tells the story of her past.  As a young slave girl, she spent time in the big house as a plaything for the mistress.  She was banished from the house after the arrival of Polly Shine, a slave and healer purchased to treat the slaves.  Granada’s life changes when the slaves are freed and her only friends disappear.  She stays on after the end of slavery  and has never known  what life outside the plantationis like.    She is reconnected to her past when Violet tells her own story.  The involved story makes a full circle as it deals with slavery and healing.  The plot, characterizations and description are excellent and the author does an amazing job writing in the voice of a black woman in the 1800’s.   This book was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in fiction, for 2013.

Jonathon Odell will be speaking at the Northfield Public Library on Tuesday, October 29, at 7:00 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public.