Of Lizards and Angels: A Saga of Siouxland [Hardcover]

Frederick Manfred (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1992

The story of three generations of the Tunis Freyling family, the novel includes murder in a fit of rage, a children's version of the crucifixion, sibling incest that leads to cohabitation and the birth of twin daughters, suicide, and a rape-murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Manfred's latest chronicle of the prairie territory called Siouxland (after No Fun on Sunday ) is an earthy, epic novel focusing on an Iowa farm family from 1884 to 1966. The initial chapters are slow going, not for lack of incident, but because the reader is bombarded with too much detail. The story does not develop narrative momentum until the marriage of Tunis Freyling and Clara Shortridge, each of whom keeps a secret from the other: in his case, a violent temper; in hers, a family history of incest. Their secrets turn out to be their legacy. Manfred's strength is his dialogue. His ear for natural and archaic speech is employed to good effect since the Freylings are a family of raconteurs, relentlessly digging up their pasts in a hermetic milieu. Outside events rarely intrude; two world wars and the Great Depression hardly affect them. The lengthy narrative could have benefited with some pruning. The dialogue is often verbose and the style clunky ("She smiled funny at him"). But readers who persevere eventually will find themselves caught up in the individual and collective struggles of the Freyling clan.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Manfred's offering is a highly unsatisfying, episodic tale of four generations of dysfunctional family life in the American Midwest. Tunis and Clara Freyling started married life keeping secrets. His was that he had once killed a man in a fit of anger; hers was that incest and asthma ran in her family. They spend their marriage, and the reader spends the novel, looking for these traits in their eight children. And finding them. As the eight children reach adulthood, they're each given their own turn as central character, but nothing holds these diverse tales together. Some of the individual stories have potential, but Manfred's storytelling never really engages the reader. Not recommended.
- Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr; 1st edition (April 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806124172
• ISBN-13: 978-0806124179
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #642,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Totally original and spicey look at pioneers!!, August 18, 1998

By 

Pam LaShelle([e-mail] (Round Rock, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Of Lizards and Angels: A Saga of Siouxland (Hardcover)

If you enjoy reading about pioneer days, and char-acters that are so well described that you feel you know them, then you will love this engrossing story. I found myself thinking about this book when I wasn't reading it, a sure sign that the book was enjoyable. It is entriguing from the beginning where a lonely cowboy is looking for a place to call his own, and then when he finds a girl staying in his homestead, uninvited!! The story that unfolds is huge, with the characters growing older with the story. I hated to finish the book that was so full of the true flavor of pioneer days, hardships, big family life, incest, and lots of laughs along the way. I loved it!!