The Staggerford Flood [Paperback]

Jon Hassler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2003

In The Staggerford Flood, Jon Hassler brings back Agatha McGee and reunites other favorite characters from his award-winning Staggerford novels. When a flood hits Staggerford and neighboring towns, Agatha McGee's house on the highest hill in town becomes a refuge for seven female neighbors, friends, and former students for three days and three nights. This deluge of old and new friends-as well as a new young priest who thinks Agatha has become a bit too zealous about morality-helps to restore Agatha's own very distinctive spark.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A natural disaster threatens the unique rural charm of Hassler's Minnesota village in the latest installment in his ongoing series, which maintains much of its entertainment value despite his decision to bring back a secondary character from an earlier volume as his fussy, pedantic protagonist. Agatha McGee is the 80-year-old sixth-grade teacher who is beginning to dread the onset of old age, so much so that a local radio personality suggests that she hold her own memorial party in advance to try to get a lift from the tribute. What invigorates Agatha instead is the threat of a flood, which distracts her from her preoccupation with local gossip and causes her to offer shelter to several troubled residents, including a combative mother and daughter as well as several friends and acquaintances. Her immediate neighbors quickly evacuate when the water rises to record levels, but the disaster brings out Agatha's stubbornness as she insists on staying in her hilltop house with her erratic guests, turning the disaster into a smalltown version of an adult slumber party. Hassler's compassion for his characters remains resolute as he describes their hidden passions and concerns, although a subplot in which Agatha encourages a struggling older woman to assume her dead sister's identity is muddled and ineffective. The popularity of Hassler's series is due to his skill in depicting, with warmth and insight, the quaint shades and nuances of rural life. While this book isn't quite up to the level of some of his earlier efforts, it represents a solid start in his first novel from Viking.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jon Hassler is the author of eleven novels, two short-story collections, and two works of nonfiction. He is Regent's Professor Emeritus at St. John's University, Minnesota. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Plume (October 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452284627
• ISBN-13: 978-0452284623
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome Back Home, November 28, 2002

By 

L. SCEARCY (BRAINERD, MINNESOTA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Staggerford Flood (Hardcover)

I have read all of Jon Hassler's novels. He has the rare ability to write a good story about people you come to care about. In this novel he brings back many of the characters who were so prominent in his other novels - almost like a reunion of characters. For long time readers of his novels this is a visit back home to see how the family is getting along. For new readers of his work, I would suggest that you begin with his earlier work and build to this one. Specifically start with Staggerford, Simon's Night, A Green Journey and Dear James. Rookery Blues would also be a prerequisite to this novel. You won't be disappointed. I grew up and still live in the area that Mr. Hassler writes about. He was also my poetry teacher in my first year in college at Brainerd Junior College. For those of you who like to read about central Minnesota this is the real Lake Wobegone. Jon Hassler describes real people - don't miss out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not one of Hassler's better novels..., May 10, 2004

By 

fish-mich (MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Staggerford Flood (Paperback)

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I must sadly write, Staggerford Flood is not one of my favorite Jon Hassler novels. I'm a big Hassler fan; I've have read most of his books, but I feel this latest offering pales next to others. The characters are not as well developed, and the plot (7 or so local residents are holed up in the protagonist's house during a flood) did not hold my interest. The flood and its physical consequences are not described with much detail. The book focuses more on the flood's psychological influence on the characters. If you plan to read this book, I would suggest reading 'Staggerford' first. Not only is Staggerford a superior read, but it will also help you to better identify with the characters of `Flood.'

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars (3.5) An octogenarian's slumber party, November 8, 2003

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Staggerford Flood (Paperback)

At a time when neighbors are barely acquainted, Hassler offers a welcome distraction, a visit to a place where America is known for its small towns with friendly people, where the postman greets everyone on his route. The Staggerford Flood is author Jon Hassler's intimate novel of small town life, in Staggerford, Minnesota, where everyone's business is discussed by folks who have known each other all their lives. Staggerford has the aura of turn-of the-century America, long before extended families began their exodus to crowded cities, where distance is an obstacle to communication.

Most of the characters in this novel are familiar faces, returning from previous tales, updating their stories. The most endearing character is Miss Agatha McGhee, a former schoolteacher and octogenarian and the resident wise woman. Agatha hasn't gotten out much the last few months, slightly under the weather, but when she sees her name in the headlines of the local newspaper, she is incensed that anyone would announce her business without consulting her. The newspaper article gets Agatha's dander up and she is on the move, fueled by a need to set the record straight. While in town, Agatha learns that the recent rain threatens to flood, that the Badbattle River will inundate all of Staggerford, as well as the neighboring towns.

Immediately concerned with those neighbors who may not have shelter when their homes flood or are unable to reach the safety of higher ground, Agatha prepares for the worst, gathering blankets and canned goods to accommodate at least two guests. When the number of stranded women increases drastically, Agatha is hard-pressed to accommodate everyone comfortably.

Agatha has gathered an odd assortment of eccentrics under her roof. Among the guests are Agatha's best friend of many years, Lillian, and her obdurate daughter, the town's new undertaker, Linda Schwartzman, Janet Meers with her daughter Sara and the much-married Beverly Bingham Cooper. Her usually quiet residence is filled with female chatter and laughter, as the women nestle contentedly out of harm's way, pleased to be warm and dry. Even when the electricity shorts out, the little group snuggles together in candlelight, festive and secure.

There is much reminiscing and storytelling as the women wait out nature's fury.
Add an assortment of town regulars who check on the women's safety, the sheriff, a local radio talk show host (a gossip) and Agatha's nephew, Frederick, and the octogenarian's house becomes a temporary home to some wonderfully eccentric characters. Agatha oversees her disparate quests, content to have brought these women together, their troubles far away for this short time. Occasionally, the old woman dozes, dreaming of the friends who have peopled her long and well-lived life.

This novel perfectly showcases Hassler's unique talent. Like Garrison Keillor of Lake Woebegon, Hassler is the undisputed muse of Minnesota. Quirky and wry, Hassler's seductive and charming characters offer his readers a welcome respite from the stresses of everyday life, a walk back in time, when conversations were held on porch swings and grandparents lived only a block away. Luan Gaines/2003.