Customer Reviews

St. Hubert's Stag

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

 

 

John Lindermuth's second novel carries a little more emotional weight than did his first. This is the main reason I give St. Hubert's Stag five stars to Schlussel's Woman's four. Both of Mr. Lindermuth's novels display a very professional, mature writing style that showcases both the author's vocabulary and his attention to regional dialect. There are a few too many proofreading errors, and the cover does not present an accurate picture of the subject matter. However, St. Hubert's Stag manages to squeak by with five stars hanging from its antlers based on the detailed accuracy of its small-town Americana surrounding poignant family relationships.

The storyline has been discussed enough elsewhere on this page. The plot surrounds a family of traditional deer hunters who variously harbor and share secrets that are key to the feelings expressed among the family members and other townspeople close to them. St. Hubert's Stag takes its title from the religious legend of a great, black stag that roams the nearby countryside unseen by most of the local hunters. Like the movie Ordinary People, or the more modern American Beauty, Lindermuth's novel is a quiet, mature little book for quiet, mature readers. The action in the plot is rarely on the surface, but boiling underneath. Coming from just such a small town where deer hunting was a passion for most men, I could easily identify with the storyline. St. Hubert's Stag brings back lost recollections of my dad, and that's what it does best.

All families have problems, concerns, and/or events that cause ripples through all time for generations. These events can destroy or strengthen.

There is a lot going on that the reader doesn't know right away. We're given the questions and while enjoying John Lindermuth's rich descriptive text, we find out.

Can this family and their friends survive the truths brought out by one old, sick man's last hunting trip; the strain of the truth, guilt from the past, and an empty place at the table?

Reviewed by Wanda C. Keesey

Have you ever read a story by a natural-born storyteller and gone back to a time to meet characters you had never known, yet come away with a feeling of having gone home? That's how St. Hubert's Stag will make you feel if you enjoy visiting small-town folks who live ordinary lives, but are very interesting people.

Jake Keller is an ailing, aging man determined to have one last hunt in his beloved woods, the place that has always felt like his real home. Nothing, anyone can say will make him change his mind. The desire is like a fever in his blood and must run its course. And, while hunting, he is forced to confront his mortality.

The very talented John Richard Lindermuth has taken a patch of woods, a very small town, and peopled them with characters you will miss when you close this book with a satisfied sigh and wish it had been longer. You'll get to meet Jake's son, Andy, who keeps a small store, his wife Janet and their son Nipper. In the background lurk a wonderful assortment of people who come to life on these pages and make the story move.

Highly recommended as a pleasant way to spend some time. This is a tale you can read again and learn something new about the characters. A keeper. Enjoy. I sure did.