Customer Reviews

Just Folks: Earthy Tales from the Prairie Heartland

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Having relocated to the Great Plains Heartland from the shores of Lower Lake Wobegon, I can relate to yarns like these! Jerry's artful word weaving helps me feel like I've found another praire home companion ... only warmer!

While re-calibratng my Kansas "compass" with the Kansas Environmental Leadership Program during the past year (2005), I'm sure I'd met dead ringers from several of Jerry's composite characters. These extended family tales help create a sense of belonging to a much broader community ...

Jerry Engler has created a cast of characters that seem real enough to touch. Engler's style of writing pulls you into the story, and makes you feel as though you've just taken a seat at the local diner - just in time to listen to a story about old Harlan Medlam and that time he . . . (take your pick - old Harlan has quite a colorful history!).

For those who were born and raised in the heartland, the stories may well remind them of characters from their own pasts (I think I've met a few of them myself!). And for those readers who are city folks, they'll get a taste of the country life that will leave them smiling.

All in all, an enjoyable reminder of the simpler life. It comes with my highest recommendation.

Engler captures all the subtle humor of life in rural America. Having grown up on a farm myself, it's easy to associate the humor Engler uses in his stories with that of my own life. This book would be a great addition to anyones personal library whether they're familiar with country life or whether they just like great humor. Engler has a way with words that is unique and begs to be read. Thanks for the memories, Jerry Engler!

In terms of humor and readability, the author does a swell job conveying a smile to your face. Jerry is quite a wordsmith as he spins his tales of the country life. Fans of humor will relish every essay in this unique collection. You may even lose yourself in these heartwarming short stories as they are surely page-turners. Good for all ages I suppose. Wait till you meet Buster Noggins, the brush salesman and the character who always says, "I don't know, you know. I just don't know."

Jerry Engler's vivid writing brings back characters I've met while living around the West and Midwest. He captures prairie country humor authentically, but I agree with Engler's son-in-law Carl-- one of my favorites was a heart-warmer as told by Aunt Edna-- "Be Thankful for Friends in All Forms."