A Dark Oval Stone (Hardcover)

by Marsena Konkle (Author) "Atapping noise, like a hundred small beetles striking a windshield, woke Miriam..." (more)
Key Phrases: Father Jake, Uncle Paul, Boundary Waters (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In Konkle's debut novel, set in the Chicago area, issues of faith, grief and identity mingle together in a quiet, sober story. When Miriam Kovatch's 39-year-old husband, Paul, dies unexpectedly, she's left to face awkward attempts at comfort from friends and family. Her grief brings deeper issues to the surface, including emotional scars from past tragedies. She reflects on the spiritual scars left by her mother's twisted ideas about prayer: "Pray, Miriam, Pray. Pray earnestly and often that you will be spared." But prayer doesn't keep her life from spiraling downward. When Miriam discovers after the funeral that she's pregnant, she wrestles with thoughts of an abortion. Her friend Esther Ling, who longs for another child and envies her condition, withdraws from Miriam, further compounding her sorrow. When Miriam uncovers the secret illness of her warm and supportive gay brother Steven, it's almost more than one character should have to bear. There's a glimmer of light in the darkness, however, as Miriam takes a few tentative steps forward to discover who she is apart from Paul and her past. Konkle excels at showing the many facets of grief, although too much information sometimes slows the pacing. A few characters are overdrawn (including Paul's father), but Konkle's smooth writing and eye for detail result in a lyrical, emotionally candid novel of faith. (Mar.)
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From Booklist
Cultured, cautious Miriam Kovatch has finally decided to have a baby with her cultured, cautious husband, Paul, but then he drops dead. Paul's loss is devastating, and Miriam is predisposed to depression in any case: her mother lost two sons and fell into a deep sadness from which she never recovered. So, a choice confronts Miriam: to sink in righteous despair or embrace life through the calm solace of her faith. When she does the latter, a surprise awaits her, but the true appeal of this quiet tale is Konkle's road map out of despair, likely to appeal to any woman who has suffered a loss.

John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA) (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557254273
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254276
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,240,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marsena Konkle's Ambition Shines, March 14, 2006

By	Lardy Woody - See all my reviews

In her first novel, A Dark Oval Stone, Marsena Konkle begins with an ambition that never fades. Her ambition is not marred by overreaching but runs as steady and true to course as a weighty train on polished tracks. She sets out to create a world of her own, and does, bringing a dead body crashing down in the middle of the first chapter. From that moment there is no letup in the momentum or the growing complexity of interrelationships in her novel. One of her great gifts is the clarity of observation and the precision of her language. There may be a reach to make her story too user friendly and politically correct, so that some of her characters we seem to have seen before--the tense Asian beauty, the gay brother, the understated, understanding priest--but the steady procession of page after page of clear and shining prose moves reservations one might have to the background. The ambition that shines through her book is her dedication to do no more and no less than each scene demands, the sort of understated beauty, running under a steady hand, that is seldom seen in first novels and, indeed, in a good deal of contemporary prose. The glow in the warmth of the prose begins to shine with a greater light of the One we see she pursues. It's a beautiful first book that the attentive reader should not miss.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars words that stayed with me, April 1, 2006

By	C. Tseng - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Konkle's book started strong and kept me wanting for more until the end. Miriam is a character I identified with, and I found myself hoping she would find her way through the pain she faced throughout the book. The people, places, and events carried me from one chapter to the next, not wanting to put the book down.

Konkle's polished writing made me feel as if I was in Miriam's world of loss with her. Miriam's pain and loss resonated through the pages. The imagery and choice of words have stayed with me long after finishing the final chapter. It won't be long before I take A Dark Oval Stone off my shelf to read it again.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dark Oval Stone, April 1, 2006

By	Mary Simmons "simmonsmry" (Wroxeter, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Exploring loss and grief and their effects on a person's hope and faith, Marsena Konkle's debut novel, `A Dark Oval Stone' is a haunting read that will captivate you from the first sentence to the last.
Its protagonist, Miriam Kovatch, has experienced more loss than one person can be expected to endure. At the point in her life when we first meet her she has already had to deal with the deaths of both her parents and two of her brothers. Shortly afterwards, she also becomes a widow after her husband suffers a fatal heart attack while shovelling snow in their driveway.
But into this loss comes new life when Miriam finds out, mere weeks after losing her husband, that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Devastated by the prospects of raising this child on her own, Miriam struggles with what it will mean to become a single mother.
Having been raised in the Catholic Church under the thumb of her overbearing mother, Miriam's faith has always been based in fear and out of a sense of duty. She begins to find a more spiritual connection after meeting Svetlana, a former legal client of her husband's, who shows her a different side of the man she thought she knew so well.
During her journey to self-discovery, Miriam also realizes some harsh truths about herself and is forced to make some changes in her life. As Konkle puts it, "She had always believed that others perceived her as she wanted to see herself: as a self-sacrificing and giving person, always on hand to relieve the burdens of others. The self-delusion now popped like a balloon in her chest, radiating real pain."
`A Dark Oval Stone' is an emotional journey in itself. While reading this book, I found myself crying, laughing and hoping with the main character. Miriam came alive and her pain oozed out of the pages like hot syrup bubbling in a pan. She is one of those characters who won't let you go immediately after you finish reading and put the book back on the shelf. She will pull at you, causing you to think about her and wondering how she is doing.
Konkle ends the book on a hopeful note, but there are many unanswered questions. We are only given a glimpse of Miriam's life and I was left wanting to know much more. This is in no way a criticism of Konkle's ability, rather it is a testament to the author's style. I am looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next and getting acquainted with more of her characters. If they are anything like Miriam, they will be added to my list of literary friends.