The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

 

I had to put the books I've been reading on hold this last week so I could read Heather Gudenkauf's latest--I had a 10 day check out from the library so I couldn't dither!

It wasn't hard to do, because this novel grabbed me from the first few pages and I quickly became completely invested in the characters and the plot.

Wylie Lark is a true crime writer, and she's come to Burden, Iowa to stay in an isolated farmhouse to finish her latest book. A big blizzard is heading quickly towards town, and Wylie heads to the farmhouse to huddle up and wait out the storm. 

Twenty years before, young Josie Doyle and her friend Becky were spending a last summer night together out at Josie's parent's farm. It was hot and hard to sleep. The girls slip out to jump on the trampoline outside, and hear gunshots in the house. Running towards the house, the girls quickly realize their mistake and turn around to flee into the cornfields. 

Josie makes it into the field to hide, but Becky doesn't. That night, Josie's world crumbles and Becky disappears.

The blizzard is raging, and Wylie lets her dog out and ends up having to go outside herself to get Taz to come back to the house. She finds a small child, lying in the snow. How did the child get there? 

Wow this was so good! The story flashes back and forth between 2000 and the violence at Josie's home, a young mother and child living in a basement (you know right away this isn't right!), and Wylie focusing on keeping the child alive and figuring out what the heck is going on--all while the power goes out, the storm rages, and no one is available to help. 

It wasn't hard to figure out who was who, but the story was tense and oh golly, that blizzard--I could feel it in my bones. I felt chilled the whole time I was reading. 

It's a quick read, but a good one. All the pieces come together at the end. There are some sensitive subjects involved in this one, so be prepared. 

Rating: 5/6 for a thriller set in an isolated farmhouse in rural Iowa during a massive blizzard. Past and present come together with a bit of a twist at the end. Heather Gudenkauf did not disappoint! 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.

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The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha

I always enjoy reading memoirs about men and women who leave the city for the country and learn a lot about themselves in the mud, muck and hard work that living in the country can bring. I saw this memoir at Barnes and Noble and realized it had been awhile since I'd read a back to the farm memoir.  I just couldn't resist. 

Maybe it's because at this stage in my life I'm also rediscovering the joy of nature; walking in the woods, up and down hills, getting my clothes caught on thorny bushes, stepping in deer poop. All because of my love for my man. As I sit here at home, I can see my camouflage boots near the front door, in a plastic bag to keep all the gunk off the floor until I need them again. Definitely not boots to put on to go the the grocery store. 

What makes this memoir different from others I've read are the circumstances that bring Jennifer and David McGaha to a little cabin in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.  After years of living in suburbia, enjoying their home, spending money on private school for their three children, David confesses to Jennifer that he hasn't paid taxes for years.  As an accountant with his own business, David knew better.  But the economic collapse of the late 2000's saw his client base drop dramatically, which directly impacted his income.  Not willing to let Jennifer know just how bad it was, he kept it to himself.  Jennifer, for her part, did nothing to be aware of the finances they shared as a married couple.  She worked part time, and enjoyed life without too many responsibilities.  She found out too late, and after David's confession, they lost their house and pretty much everything they had-including friendships.  Their marriage strained, David finds a cabin to rent, for a few hundred dollars a month.  It needs a lot of work, but it's a place to start over.  Reluctantly, Jennifer agrees to move to the cabin.  Angry with David, she's having a really hard time transitioning from suburbia to country life.  David, however, is thriving  with the manual labor it takes to keep the wood burning boiler running, continue to make improvements to the cabin, and working from home to rebuild his business.  

A lot of this memoir is about the strained relationship between Jennifer and David, and how they got to their present situation.  Jennifer tells a lot of stories about their early years, and also about her grandparents, who were Appalachian through and through.  As they decide to invest in chickens for eggs, and then take the big step to buy goats for making goat cheese and soap, Jennifer and David start to find peace in the shared work of cabin life.  Often times completely broke, with no money in the bank and a few dollars in their wallets, they make do with what they have, and find satisfaction in their surroundings and peace of the waterfall that faces their cabin.  Slowly, they begin to build their life again.  

I loved this memoir for a few things: this was about a couple who had it all, and lost it all.  They had to start over in their late 40's.  It was about a marriage that  was damaged, and required a lot of work to repair.  It didn't happen overnight.  It was about two people who realized having physical things wasn't important, and often times those "things" were just crutches to get them through the days.  Sitting on the porch at sunset, sipping a beer, with soup on the stove--that was happiness.  Being surrounded by nature, and appreciating the power and beauty of it; that was peaceful.  This stripping away of the noise of modern life gave Jennifer and David the opportunity to figure out what they wanted out of life, not what others expected or wanted them to do.  Pretty powerful.  

Rating:  4/6 for a memoir about starting over, accepting blame and being honest with yourself; and in doing so, finding your purpose.  Recipes included in each chapter all sounded really delicious, and if you're so inclined, you too can make your own goat milk soap in a crockpot.  

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook.

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Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Sourdough is a strange little novel that could be looked at from a few different angles.  One angle is just an enjoyable, slightly odd tale about Lois, who moves to San Francisco to write code for a robotics company, and discovers a love of baking bread.  

Or, it could be about a young woman, Lois, who moves to San Francisco to write code for a robotics company, and discovers that life without creativity is pretty dull; creativity is what fuels our souls. Sourdough is her creative muse. 

Or, it could be a funky mix of magical realism with a twist of technology that can make your head spin, all the while wishing you had a freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread on hand, and wondering if gee, maybe you should try making bread this weekend?

Honestly, it was all three angles for me.  This sourdough starter, the stuff that changes Lois' life, is magical.  Gifted to her by a man who operates a small take-out restaurant specializing in  spicy soup and sourdough bread spicy sandwiches, it is the thing that saves Lois from a dull life working day and night for a tech company.  The pay is great, but it can cost you your soul.  Lois can't even eat regular food; she, along with her coworkers, instead drink liquid nutritious sludgie packets of food that keep them going without causing stomach problems.  Honestly, any job that requires you become so less human that you don't even chew food (or enjoy it), is not the job for anyone. 

Lois begins baking bread in her apartment, and soon the sourdough produces changes in her life that wake her up to possibilities outside of coding as a career.  Meanwhile, the sourdough sings to music, bubbles, shoots off colored sparks in the dark, and seems to have a personality all its own.  I told you this was an odd story!

I won't tell you anymore about Lois' journey with her sourdough starter.  You'll have to take the plunge and read this novel to find out more.  I actually think it would make a pretty interesting book club discussion.  Big themes about greed, appreciating nature, the machinations of the food industry, and the slow and steady cost of progress.  Appreciating the simple things in life, and finding the complexity in those simple things.  Yes, even sourdough bread can be complex.  

Go ahead.  Check this one out.  I certainly enjoyed it, and it wasn't anything that I expected. Sometimes those are the best book surprises.  

Rating:  4/6 for a truly odd-ball novel about sourdough bread and a few other things. I may very well order sourdough bread instead of wheat the next chance I get.   

Available in hardcover, audio, and ebook. 

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Sourdough by Robin Sloan