Customer Reviews

The Lake, the River & the Other Lake

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

From the moment this book crossed my desk at the library where I work, I couldn't put it down. That's not to say it's heavy on plot. It's the characters that keep you reading and I'm always a sucker for interesting character development. My favorite person in the book is definitely Roger Drinkwater, a Native American/Vietnam Vet/swim coach/beef jerky maker who has a bit of a problem with jet skis. It was nice to live through him vicariously as he carried out his vendetta in some explosive ways.

As you read the book (and you should definitely pick up a copy), get yourself some fudge and surf over to www.steve-amick.com where you can listen to the soundtrack for this book, the Weneshkeen Jukebox.

It's a great summer read. I hate saying this about a book, but I wish there was a sequel or a TV series made out of this one. I miss the characters already.

When this book arrived, I was so enthused I put it at the top of my reading stack (which is enormous). When I began reading, I was immediately pulled into the story and fell in love with the writing. I'm from the Midwest and have spent some time in Michigan and was really enjoying the way the author pulled in stories of the Native American, the local residents, the summer visitors and the fun reference to the tourists as "fudgies". The writing is great and I really thought I had stumbled across a wonderful read and was having a hard time putting the book down.

Then, I reached the 2/3 mark in the book and my feelings drastically changed. Anyone who thought they were getting a gentle, Mitford series book knew early on that that wasn't going to be how this one worked out which is just fine. I was assuming it would have more of an edge and some crude references along the lines of Garrison Keillor (who seemes fascinated with the thoughts of 12-year-old boys regarding body parts), but this book came as a shock. While there had been some very graphic sex scenes in the book early on that I didn't particularly care for it crossed the line into repulsive at this point. If I took direct quotes from the book, I doubt Amazon would allow this review to be published without removing the quotes. Very, very graphic descriptions of internet pornography pictures/sites are covered in minute detail. A 60 + year old minister toys with pedophelia and his thoughts and actions leave nothing to your imagination. It only gets worse from there with one final scene that almost made my physically ill. Nothing humorous here, just dark and repulsive. I have a difficult time with this book being labeled for high school age kids. I sure wouldn't want my 14-year-old daughter reading this ! I'm sure there are folks out there who will jump on me for being a prude, but I just don't care for feeling like I was ambushed. If I would have had any hint of what was to come, I just would have not read the book.

It was very unfortunate the way the book unfolded since this is the last book I will read by this author and 3/4 of the book was wonderful.

Steve Amick is a wonderful writer and his book deserves a world of readers. He juggles many stories here; in that sense, this is an old-fashioned book, filled with subplots, minor characters, and the kind of tales you might hear on front porches in summer. All the people here feel alive, and his teenagers, in particular, are well-drawn: funny, sad, and filled with the sort of longing that never goes away.

"The Lake, the River & the Other Lake" is fun to read, breezy and dense with one-liners worth remembering, and the twin triumphs of this novel are the voice, and the multi-layered plot. It moves quickly, and Mr. Amick obviously cares about these people, all of them, with all their quirks and tiny triumphs and struggles.

It's the best book I've read in a long, long time.

I was very surprised to see that no one else had yet reviewed this. Pages magazine reviewed it, so I gave it a try. If you judge it from the first page or two, which reads like a history book, you'll miss a great story. Some of the characters include a Native American who is 1/8th Polish, a retired reverend who is a recent widower, a down on his profits, rich inventor of a (Googleish) search engine, a fruit farm owner who is perplexed that his kids are finding foreign spouses, and several teenagers. I love the subtle humor in this book. I'll be looking for his next book. Happy reading.

Steve Amick, The Lake, The River & the Other Lake (Pantheon, 2005)

reviewed by A. J. Gretz

Steve Amick's first novel is a reflection of the characters contained within - unusual, thoughtful, and, though flawed, incredibly likeable. The Lake, The River & the Other Lake is the story of one summer in a tiny Northern-Michigan town, and the all-too familiar sense of connection among its various inhabitants. The book revolves around a dozen or so characters that Amick manages to flesh out nicely, creating memorable and surprisingly deep moments of wit and retrospect. This is all the more impressive since many of their surface-level quirks - be it a nervous young billionaire, disgruntled Indian or nymphomaniac teenager - seem so potentially one-dimensional. However, as the novel progresses they each come alive in the classically Midwestern struggle to overcome the confines of a small-town identity, while still "doing the right thing."
Amick manages to effectively capture the laid back, disposable feeling of summer with his understated writing style. The writing is warm and rich with detail without becoming overbearing, making Weneshkeen an easy read with wide appeal. However, the prose is consistently impressive, as Amick seems to have a knack for making the small details count. The opening is particularly memorable, as Amick writes "there was a heavenly time, a sliver-thin window of peace that Roger Drinkwater cherished ever year on Meenigeesis - those early days when the water warmed just enough for him to bear but all others steered clear and he could swim in peace and hear nothing but the water and his breath and the birds and the distant road: the way it had once been on this lake." Anyone who has ever spent time in one of Northern Michigan's tourist trap like Mackinaw City will be able to smell the mix of suntan lotion, boat exhaust, and fried food right away.
The heart of the book lies in the relationship between Kimberly Lasco, a teenager, and the retired preacher Gene Reecher she befriends over the summer. Of all the characters that populate the fictional community of Weneshkeen, he proves to be one of the most challenging and engaging. He is a man with a good heart who, overwhelmed by the loss of his wife, fights a losing battle to keep from losing all sense of himself. Although these two characters are more isolated than the others in the novel, it gives the narrative space to breathe, and their interactions feel the most evenly paced of any in the book, despite Reecher's uncomfortable feelings for Lasco. At one point, the old man awakens from a dream about the young girl, saying "it was a warm, languid dream, bright with sunlight. It was something out in back of the house. The chaise lounges, the nutty liquid of the iced coffee. And skin - yes." Amick's writing is at once poetic and disturbing, an unflinching look at the darkness present in the human condition.
The plot-line involving Mark the pilot boy and his "girlfriend" is also worth mentioning here. One can't help but watch the train wreck crafted by Amick, as their relationship goes frighteningly beyond the normal awkwardness of teenage romance. His teenage voice is, thankfully, painless to read. This is partly because of his skill as a writer, and partly because every character has a difficult time distinguishing him/herself from Amick's naturally dry tone.
Although this is a very solid effort for a first novel, the landscape of The Lake, The River & the Other Lake is mostly subplots and character explorations, and the author has a difficult time juggling all of his loose ends at once. Other than Reecher and Roger Drinkwater - think Native Companion with a vendetta against Jet-Ski's - most of the adults in town are distracting. As the book progresses, it becomes more and more difficult to keep tabs on who is doing what, and several characters seem to simply disappear in the final 30-40 pages. Although it is interesting to watch each person progress over the summer, the book would have benefitted from a smaller scope of characters. This would have allowed him to give more attention to the relationships and connections that seemed to matter the most.
Still, there is a lot to like about Amick's writing. With an offbeat sense of humor and a sharp eye for detail, he offers a unique and unabashedly small town voice for the overlooked Midwesterner in all of us.

___

A. J. Gretz is an undergraduate in the Writing Department at Grand Valley State University.

A friend of mine recommended The Lake, the River, and the Other Lake to me as I grew up in Michigan many moons ago. Although I'm sure it gels brilliantly whether one grew up in MI or not, I had many belly laughs throughout in recognition of so many goofy Northern MI concepts (read: fudgies).

The writing is confident but easy-going, letting the reader slip among the intertwined lives of many well-drawn characters.

A joy to read, particularly when you're on vacation with toes planted firmly in the sand.

You need not have ever been to Michigan, particularly, the northern part of Michigan described in this highly amusing and intelligently written book, to be able to look back on it as fondly as if you hade been going there your whole life.

The fascinatingly quirky and real characters pull you in from the start and keep you laughing, cringing and not wanting the story to end.

A fabulous read no matter where you're from! It will leave you craving cherry pie....that I can guarantee.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, especially being a Michigander who is familiar with the area the author writes about. I was a bit disappointed with the final chapter (epilogue?) but hopefully this will be the first in a series of books and we will be able to follow the characters through more adventures.

Maybe it's because I am a native Michigander now in exile in Florida. Maybe it's because I read this while visiting Leland Michigan, which could have been Amick's inspiration. But damn, I enjoyed my visit to weird little Weneshkeen. This book may not be everyone's cup of sumac tea -- long on the picaresque and short on plot. But there is something about this book that got under my skin and I still am thinking about Amick's characters weeks later. Maybe it's the Brigadoon thing because on my trip Up North I saw so much of small-town life disappearing. Maybe that is the story's point. Bravo.

I found this book very hard to read at the beginning, in part due to the sheer number of characters and plot development there was to absorb. Once the main characters and overall scene had been established, I couldn't put this richly written and developed book down. I admit, at times, there were a lot of people, places, events and subplots to keep track of, but each chapter left me hungry for more.

The characters are deeply human, some sad, some pathetic, some wise beyond their years. The character of Reecher the preacher explores the addictive nature of Internet porn and accurately portrays not only our cultures fascination with sex, but with the immediate gratification our society seems obsessed with. Reecher is a good man, who is lonely and isolated, and stumbles across (as we all have at one time or another) the pervasive world of porn that saturates the world wide web. What starts as a fascination quickly becomes an obsession that manifests in his lust for his young tutor. When reviewed with a human heart, you realize this man is not a pedophile (as he NEVER does anything hands on with his Lolita) he is a human being, a true sinner who allows himself to get wrapped up in a sick obsession that ultimately you come to understand is born of loneliness and a desire to capture some semblance of youth.

Amick captures the teenaged voice with such clarity that one cannot help but get enveloped in the teen characters. You watch several different teenagers struggle with issues of class, sexual issues and parental relationships. I dare say that it took me back to a time in my life I'd rather not revisit.

While I do believe there was an awful lot going on, which made some of it hard to keep track of, this novel is so well written with characters so well developed, you cannot help but like Amick's work and his wisdom. Furthermore, you can tell time was taken to really interweave the characters and the situations in the book. Amick has a knack for showing that which is completely, utterly and sometimes very sadly human.

I look forward to his next literary triumph.