Customer Reviews

The Heart of a Thirsty Woman

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

 

 

In 1976 Pick, Kentucky, Josie Tolliver feels the small town is destroying her. A lover of books, she dreams of returning to Arizona where she once lived when her father worked in the state. Only her marriage to her childhood sweetheart Clarence, a TV repairman, keeps her from running away. Clarence has his own dream that keeps the duo in Eastern Kentucky.

Josie wants to start her odyssey in Arizona where her older sister disappeared sixteen years ago. She persuades a reluctant Clarence to accompany her out west, which he agrees to do, hoping to get her wanderlust out of her system. In Arizona, they fail to find her sibling, but Josie expands her sexual knowledge with an affair. She learns that her sibling might be in California. Josie drags Clarence further west as she seeks the enlightenment of Castaneda even if it might mean the end of her marriage.

THE HEART OF A THIRSTY WOMAN centers on a woman's need to find herself in spite of being cramped by society. The story line has plenty of moments of wit and pathos. However, Lana Witt's novel never fully soars. Josie's quest for self awareness at times seems more like a childlike selfish attitude. Additionally, the story depicts the town of Pick in the stereotypical way of small Southern towns. Readers who enjoy an angst-laden trek will relish this tale. However, anyone else would prefer SLOW DANCING ON DINOSAUR BONES.

Harriet Klausner

From the cover reviews I expected this read to be more whimsical and humurous than I found it to be. It started out that way with a few funny passages and situations but that ended after the first few chapters. Searching for who we really are is easier these days but back when the action takes place soul searching was only for the freaks and hippies. In today's world Josie's actions would not be worth writting about. Place it in the 70's and you have a story that is moving. It is a great reminder of how life used to be lived, graduate from highschool and get on the train for a quick stop in marriage and off to lifetime job and retirement without ever getting off the train. Thankfully Josie jumps the train and saves herself from what is waiting for her at the end of the line. I especially liked the debunking of hero worship. Too often we wish we were someone else when we all have the ability to achieve for ourselves. There was a lot of story to get through, that seemed to move along slowly, but don't quit on the book. Ms. Witt did a superbe job with the dialog, I can still hear the wonderful Souther accents echoing in my head.

Get ready to laugh out loud as well as cry with this story. This is a story of a woman who travels from Kentucky back to the Arizona of her childhood to find a lost sister and reclaim herself in the process. Lana Witt does a great job in providing the reading with a sense of place by her dramatization of the various characters and in her description of the Arizona desert landscape and the small town in Kentucky. Her Southern tone and black humor make it a quick and very enjoyable read. Readers of Carlos Casteneda books will love this one.

I have read both books by this author and can't wait for the next one! Her books totally engulf you and leave you wanting for more. Lana Witt writing takes you into the story without going into so much detail that you lose interest.

Heart of a Thirsty Woman is about Josie Tolliver's desperate search for her missing sister, Cheyenne. I enjoyed Josie's eccentric personality, her outlook on life, and the people of Sage, Arizona. Her father, Brewster Clay, was an intersting guy with a colorful life. I found Clarence impossibly dull and Cheyenne less than desirable. Overall, I liked the book, despite Josie's childishness. But I think I would buy it when it came out in paperback.

The main character in this book is a woman who leaves Appalachia to move to Arizona to find what she's looking for. This book is so good that it has inspired me to do the same.