Customer Reviews

The Problem With Murmur Lee

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just finished reading this wonderful book. I have never read any of Connie May Fowler's books before this one and I can safely say I am hooked. I even bought a copy for my Mom for Mother's Day!

Reading her words are like sailing along a lazy river. Thoughts and images floating through your brain effortlessly. When I got to the end of this wonderful book, I thought "Wow".....I've found a new Author to explore.

All I can add now is.....I'm really going to miss the characters, especially Murmur Lee.

I ate this book up with a spoon, it was just soooo good. After reading the last page (and wiping away my smeared makeup from crying my eyes out), I turned to the front of the book and started over. It's that kind of book. I wanted to buy a hundred copies and give them to everyone I know!!! (I don't ever recall feeling quite this way about a book.) Thank you, Angie, for telling me about this story!!!!!!!!!!!!! I owe you for this one.

I have never in my life read such lyrical, soul-stirring, beautiful, original, exquisite, emotion-filled writing. I wanted to BE Murmur Lee, lover of life, nature, and nurturer of all kinds of people. She was a survivor, lover and friend of the highest order...we should all aspire to imitate the depth of her soul.

Ms. Fowler, you are truly a word magician and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this book. It renewed my sagging faith in life. The words just sparkle on the page and fill your heart with wonder and awe at the miracle of life and living.

Connie May Fowler's latest novel is brilliant and devastating-a celebration of all the elements that make our world simultaneously heart breaking and joyous. The novel explores Southern culture, both the external features and the deeply ingrained qualities that one cannot completely abandon, no matter how hard they try. "The Problem With Murmur Lee" offers a multifaceted examination of an extraordinary woman's life, in addition to the lives of the people who loved her. Throughout the novel, Fowler's prose remains lyrical and evocative, as the story of Murmur Lee Harp unfolds with all the beauty, pain, and complexity that characterizes a fully realized life.

(pardon the play on words)! Reading this book is a magnificent experience! If we are lucky in life we meet a Murmer Lee...if we are truly blessed we find the Murmer Lee within ourselves. I can't recommend this book enough. I have placed it on the shelf alongside my other very favorite books where it will be easy to find and reread.

I really wanted to like this book, but somehow it just missed the mark for me. It was filled with quirky characters in a radiant setting...but they didn't ring true and I couldn't hold onto the sense of place. Plus, I "figured it out" pretty early on, and it became painful to bear witness to Murmur's one-dimensionally neurotic friends' poor behavior and totally undeveloped coping skills. Despite the unlikability of all the central characters, I became emotionally engaged, even though I felt like I had been tricked into the engagement by trite devices, such as cancer ridden wives and children. The epliepsy incident was garish but amusing.

Still, the overall message (as finally learned by Murmur before she turns into a plant) is valuable for all women and makes it worth the quick and easy read.

This is the secret princess of southern writers. This book is told from a dead person's point of view and the characters are as crazy as bed bugs. I loved the wierd neighbors and the setting is so magically described. Fowler apparently holds the chair in literature at Rollins College.I would like to pull up a chair beside her. I grew up in and around tampa bay and the north florida coast. These areas are her stomping ground and so vivid as she describes them. She could never write Before Women Had Wings again or something as good but this book is pure wonderful entertainment. Damn I would love to meet her! Fowler has to be a kick in the head over a glass of wine....her books are such.

I was given this book for my birthday and read it on the airplane. I enjoyed it very much because although the plot was fairly predictable, and the ending a foregone conclusion, the characters were interesting and there were a couple of twists and turns along the way. I felt the comraderie of the characters and the overwhelming grief that came with their loss. They didn't always get along but, as it is with long-lasting friendship, they are there for one another. The glue that held their friendship together was Murmer Lee, and it was very interesting to see how they handled it when she died. I would definitely recommend this book. It is both sad and heartwarming at the same time. Not a long read, but a good one.

This book is hands-down, a 5-star, truly literary work of art. I absolutely was immersed in it and the writing was gorgeous. It has been quite a while since I have read a book that really made me laugh out loud and shed tears in the same sitting. I didn't want it to end.

The characterizations were absolutely stellar. First, each character is fully developed through their own descriptions and narratives, as well as their own perceptions of the same world and the other characters' views of them. In this way, we see perspectives from all sides and this lends special insight into each character's perceived reality. Connie May Fowler does this extremely well. I would contrast this vehicle with The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf, as this author also reveals bits of storyline through several main characters' points of view. However, Ms. Gudenkauf sadly falls short where Connie May Fowler excels. This appears to be the (big) difference between "student" and a "master". In The Weight of Silence, the characters, while narrating their own stories, all seem to have very similar voices, completely defeating the purpose of using such a mechanism-we don't see the individuality and the level of distinction expected between each of these people--despite their vast differences in age and background. (I also reviewed this book on Amazon.) The characterization in The Weight of Silence was much more flat and underdeveloped by comparison. The Problem with Murmur Lee successfully established each character as individual, with unique vocabulary and reactions that stayed true to who they were. This was extremely well done.

I did see some negative reviews of The Problem with Murmur Lee on [...] and those negative reviews were based upon two things:
1. That the mystery of Murmur Lee's death was known 1/2 way through the book (so it shouldn't be billed as a "mystery")
2. There was adult language and themes

Regarding item #1, I think these reviewers are missing the point. First, I don't think that the author deliberately wrote this book to be in the genre of mystery (like a Tana French novel would be), I think this is a true literary novel that raises questions about life, death, afterlife, love, friendship, family, and faith. Second, yes, the mystery of how she died was solved in the first half of book, but I think the true mystery in this book is not how she died, but how that truth would ultimately be revealed. The various theories of each of the other characters (suicide, murder, accident)bolstered the character development and I think this was a wonderful way to move through the novel. Also, the fact that most of the novel takes place after Murmur Lee's death and she speaks to us in the afterlife, shows that this book is not about solving the mystery of her death, but so much more than that.

Regarding item #2, yes there is some sexual content and adult language. To this I say that this is just one thing that made the character development so successful. In particular, Billy Speare (the drinking writer who lives in a trailer park) and Lucinda (the angry young artist) toss out their fair share of curse words. But I would expect that. It keeps these characters genuine. (And perhaps this was something that was missing from The Weight of Silence.) None of it feels forced or gratuitous, just honest characterization. To this criticism I would say if the "f" word (and adult activities relating to it) offend you, then you will be offended.

Some people have also made contrasts with Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, but not having read that book, I can't comment on that.

This book was actually very deep, without seeming so. It was quick-moving, kept you wondering and wanting more. The language was absolutely beautiful, particularly, the references to Murmur in the afterlife, the use of the bird images, the sense of place and the passion and emotion that was created. I bought this book used and had a worn copy. I am going to donate it and buy a new copy to keep on my shelf. This one is definitely a keeper and I will be reading it again--something I am very seldom compelled to do. I actually laughed out loud and cried when Murmur spoke of her daughter, for example. The characters in this book adored Murmur Lee and so did I. It was tragic and wonderful, and (like Murmur and the women of Iris Haven) it ended too soon.

I love this author and all of her books. I look forward to a new book written by her.

I first fell in love with Ms Fowler's writing when I read "Sugar Cage". Her ear for dialogue and skill in character development is so beautifully articulated. She is writer whose books I am always searching for to read and enjoy.