Customer Reviews

A Brief History of the Flood

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lil Anderson is young, gutsy, brave, naive, quirky, fast-talking, quick-witted, and totally affecting. She is also the memorable debut creation of California writer Jean Harfenist.

Presented as a series of short stories, which segue easily from one to another very much like chapters, "A Brief History of the Flood" traces the life of Lil from 1950 through 1979, between the ages of eight and 18. She shares a usually flooded, much in need of repair lakefront home outside of Acorn Lake, Minnesota with older brother and sister, Randy and Mitzy, younger brother, Davey, and a black Lab, Happy.

Mother Marion in tiny shorts with a wide belt encircling her tiny waist has a world view determined by the words of every love song she has ever heard. She sees only what she wishes and wishes for the impossible. If she's awake, "she's working on something," weaving a rug from panty hose or even building a floating wedding cake for the Fourth of July Float contest.

Dad Jack is an intrepid hunter who built their home then dubbed it "Jack's Hunting Lodge." He delivers dictates and diatribes in equal measure as he clinks ice cubes in his glass of Old Heaven Hill. Lil learned early in life to avoid him because as her Mom explains the young girl has "a talent for saying the one thing that'll launch him. Like good morning or hello."

As an eight-year-old Lil enjoys carefree days on the water, drifting in the family's pontoon or flipping over a rowboat to make breathing room underneath. Harsh reality strikes with 1965 as Randy is of draft age. Mitzi has a busy social life, having "dated every other boy who comes to school without manure on his shoes," and Lil surrenders her virginity to a teacher, Mr. C.

At the age of 15, along with five friends, Lil finds work putting together salads for airline passengers at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. It's driving 62 miles each way but that night shift duty pays $1.73 an hour, even though they're overseen by a hefty supervisor who "fills the cafeteria door like a new refrigerator."

Noting that her Mom knows Lil can run her own life and "Dad doesn't care," the teenager moves quickly into shop lifting with best pal Irene who pierces Lil's ears in the basement restroom of a shopping center. Being caught doesn't stem their taste for further adventure.

A teacher mentions that Lil's Mom has "bursts of vigor," little knowing that these spasms may be due to the Dexedrine she pops, and generously shares with her daughter. This drug induced energy enables Lil to whip through her high school classes, and land a job as a typist at an insurance company in St. Paul. Keeping the pounds off, Lil finds, is another benefit of her "speed system."

Growing up has not been easy for Lil, but reading this masterfully crafted coming-of-age tale is pure pleasure. Jean Harfenist is definitely a writer to watch with her knack for presenting an arresting narrative voice that lingers in readers' minds. In precise, penetrating strokes the author portrays off-beat characters with their foibles full-blown.

"A Brief History of the Flood" is a winner.

- Gail Cooke

I know a lot of people don't enjoy short story collections; they prefer to get to know a character and stay with them. All of the stories in this collection happen chronologically and focus on the same family. Maybe the chapters stand alone - I didn't notice. But they certainly flow together as a narrative, which can be read in one (long) sitting.

I just finished "The Miss America Family" which also deals with dysfunction, but I didn't believe in those people. You'll believe in these people - you know them - you've met some of them. This has been a great summer for new novelists, and I think Jean Harfenist ranks right up there. If you like Lee Smith or Kaye Gibbons, you may want to seek this out.

If you are going to read one book this year, read, A Brief History Of The Flood, by Jean Harfenist. The voise of this author captures you from the very first sentence and resonates well after you have finished the last page.
The book, which is a series of linked stories, reads like a novel and follows the life story of Lillian Anderson from the age of eight until twenty when she decides to leave her family and home in Acorn Lake Minnesota. Set during the 60's and early 70's Ms. Harfenist shows an extremely deft eye for character and relationships and how the parents of this first person narrator, Lillian, effect each of their children as they prepare or rather fail to prepare them for the world. It is written with humor and pathos and a hard cold eye for truth, while never sacrificing its sense of compassion and understanding for the people the narrator seems, despite everything, to truly love. As Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times reveiw of books said; Ms. Harfenist "has made an auspicious and stirring debut."

With abundant wisdom and a complete lack of pretense, Jean Harfenist delivers a funny and touching group of short fictions. Lillian Anderson of Acorn Lake, Minnesota, is my new best friend.

I'm glad to see this book by a first-time author has received so many reviews here. ... I notice that one of my favorite writers, Richard Russo, has written a glowing back-cover blurb: 'Reading Jean Harfenist's stories is like finding a hot slot machine in a casino. One winner after another.' These stories read like a novel because each tale is about members of the same Minnesota family. After finishing it I'd have to say that it ranks right up there with Russo's own recent story collection, 'The Whore's Child.' No small compliment. It has quirkily attractive characters who are complex, inconsistent (like real life) and maddeningly appealing, even though sometimes you want to shout at them.

I had to fight to get to read this book. No sooner had it arrived at our house than my wife took it and spent the rest of the day with it, frequently reading passages aloud to me. The next morning I woke to find it at my place at the kitchen table with a Post-It saying 'I liked it a lot. I recommend it. I would buy anything this woman writes. I'm going to put it on our book club's next reading list.' A discerning woman, my wife, and I can't think of a better recommendation.

Scott Morrison

This book is much more than that. The characters are wonderful, one gets to know them, to live next door to them and after the page has been turned, the reader is saddened that these wild and interesting neighbors have moved away. Harfenist is a master at with holding, at understating. When Lillian first encounters sex, so much more is left unsaid than appears on the page. It shows the ability of Harfenist to tell all without telling everthing. This holds true as well when Lillian's mother sells the contents of the garage. After this chapter ends, we fill in the blank spaces and know (yes, know, not guess) how the father will react. It is a marvellous read, as well as a work of great minimalist literature. The style is brittle and "right on," never maudlin, never sweet, as so many coming of age stories tend to be.
One hopes to hear soon from this first time novelist again.

A Brief History of the Flood is a wonderful collection of linked short stories, chronicling the lives of the Anderson family from 1959 to 1970 in Minnesota. Lillian, one of the children narrates. We meet her when she is 8 and watch as she grows into a sullen adolescent. The writing in these stories is wonderful and evocative. There is one story in particular that stands out in my mind in which Lillian attends an anniversary party for her parents. Her observations of the adults milling around her is perfectly dead on, well put. This is an excellent collection, with more cohesiveness than other short story collections because we follow the same characters over the course of eleven years. Enjoy.

"A Brief History of the Flood" is a great book, to say the least. If you want to learn in-depth about the storyline, read the editorial review; it's right on. One thing I've always liked are coming of age books and movies. "A Brief History of the Flood" follows a girl from Minnesota, Lillian, through all her trials and triumphs, mostly pertaining to her family, which is made up of very colorful characters that are so different from one another that it would almost make you scratch your head at the fact that they're actually related.

I'm a big fan of books that flow real well. I never read the editorial reviews until now. The flow was so great between the chapters that I thought they were just that: chapters. But they're not; they're separate short stories that seem to come together chronologically as one.

Another major plus is that the author gives you a clear picture of each of the characters and their surroundings. Even though there are no illustrations, you can SEE what the people look like, what Acorn Lake's surroundings appear to be, etc. Even moreso, you can feel the emotions of Lillian and her family so well that you may begin to think you're actually a part of their family, just from reading this very well-written book by a first time author.

Jean Harfenist is not only a master of imagery, but something else that she uses a lot of are similes, which I like a lot and have constantly used in some of my reviews (mostly on other sites). There are so many similes it's like an English book on learning how to use them. Unlike any English book I've ever had to study, however, these are actually interesting to read and experience.

I'm certainly no psychic, but I see great things in this author's future. If she keeps at it, all of her works won't be published as quietly as this one seems to have been. Perhaps the next step will be earning a slot on the New York Times best seller list. Highly recommended!

I concur with the opinions expressed by the other reviewers. I casually picked this book up at the library as part of a stack of summer reading. It's such a joy to start a book with no expectations whatsoever and be so tremendously satisfied. I am a bit puzzled, however, at the author's choice of the short story format. Why write a series of short stories and then package them together chronologically this way, so that the result is an "almost" novel? Because each story is meant to stand alone, there is some repetitiousness in certain descriptions of people and places--yet we are obviously intended to read them as a whole. I'd be interested to know whether the stories were written and/or published individually, and, if so, in what order they appeared. Are you out they Ms. Harfenist? Please enlighten us!

  A Brief History of the Flood is that rare book that can't be put down, and one you'll want to read again and again.  Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, each chapter fits together with a satisfying click to reveal an insightful picture of an unforgettable family of unique characters. Read the excerpt and I guarantee you'll be captivated by Harfenist's voice, wit, and the wisdom that comes with understanding how we all grow up survivors of imperfect families. If you liked Mary Karr's memoir, The Liars Club, you will love this book. It may be billed as fiction, but it has the unmistakable ring of truth. Ironically, A Brief History of the Flood turns out to be a life preserver--reminding each of us how our unique childhood journeys help determine our destination in the world, and how understanding the past can buoy us in the present.