Customer Reviews

The Widower: A Novel

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Liesel Litzenburger is what Saul Bellow called "a first class noticer." She sees, hears, feels the textures of her northern world with such intimacy that every page holds surprises. I love the way she uses landscapes--especially frozen ones--as a counterpoint to the inner landscapes of her down-at-heel characters. Her novel has a rivetting arc from abandonment and yearning to healing: it's a story of consolations that never feels predictable.
The author is so open to the souls of her fragile characters. . . and to the fickle winds that sweep through them. This book is a keeper.

I bought this novel after reading the first few pages in my local bookstore, and while it perhaps wasn't as suspenseful as I'd hoped, I do admire the writer for her insights into her characters and for the way she brought to life the Michigan landscape. I did find the flashbacks and multiple viewpoints slightly offputting after a while (she seemed to give attention to a few characters who contributed very little to the overall story) but still, at a time when a lot of books seem to re-hash old stories, or draw on the author's own experiences, I really enjoyed this novel for its originality.

"The Widower" is a page-turner romance set in a spare-but-beautiful northern Michigan. Several haunted characters intersect in the aftermath of a horrific car accident and try to figure out how to get past surviving and find some poetry, if not happiness in their compromised lives.

Another book I read recently that I liked a lot for similar reasons was Ian McEwan's "Saturday." The two books have a lot in common - both use brilliant craft to deliver streams of prose that almost disappear, but not quite, into the story as I read. The 'not quite' part is what makes reading both books fun - the zing I feel when I notice something familiar being described in vivid way; the little flourishes that remind me why reading is still my favorite way to enjoy a good story.

Another thing McEwan's and Litzenberger's stories have in common is violence - in measured, economical, but devastating beats. There are two deadly moments in this book that pulled me through the pages way too late at night. Violence that is so inevitable, the dread and sense of loss I felt was real.

The way they're different is the other way they're the same. Litzenburger seems to really like the America of Michigan the way McEwan likes London. She notices that the people in our rural places are more wise and driven than the methamphetamine addled, Wal Marted depressives we see on Fox News.

If you like McEwan, and you like American fiction, I think you'll enjoy "The Widower." I hope we don't have to wait too long for Litzenburger's next book.

Strong imagery. Drills deep into our souls, conveying joy and pain as lived by the characters and perceived by the narrator. Beautiful literature.

This novel was a pleasant surprise for a first novel in content, characters, and plot. Her flashbacks and different points of view were well-crafted and original. I especially liked her Native American characters, who were first only linked by the use of the word, "heh," at the end of a sentence. They were quietly indentified and were not sterotypical.

Swanton Robey is a broken man, recovering from both the death of his wife and a major car accident. Having lost all interest in life, he allows Grace Blackwater to care for both his apple orchard and for him. Joseph Geewa is a man who has lost everything, including his son and his wife. After being released from prison, he goes to work at Swan's apple orchard. Grace is unable to love any unattached man as she is in love with her boss. Ramona, Grace's somewhat clairvoyant mother, is preparing to die. Dawn is a hurt young woman who feels as though she has few choices in life. One day, Joseph discovers an abandoned baby in Swanton Robey's apple orchard and goes off with Swan to find its family, bringing to an end the quiet despair that characterizes both of their lives. The narrative moves around in time, and this structure allows Litzenburger to show the most vivid snapshots of each character's life. Strengths of The Widower include memorable and original characters, beautiful prose, and a lovely Northern Michigan setting. The weakness would be the links between some of the characters seem unlikely, even for a small town setting. This is the kind of book you'll want to read on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a pot of tea.