Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with Recipes): A Novel - Hardcover

Landvik, Lorna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1517905990 ISBN 13: 9781517905996

Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2019

Synopsis

A bittersweet, seriously funny novel of a life, a small town, and a key to our troubled times traced through a newspaper columnist\u2019s half-century of taking in, and taking on, the world The curmudgeon who wrote the column \u201cRamblin\u2019s by Walt\u201d in the Granite Creek Gazette dismissed his successor as \u201cpuking on paper.\u201d But when Haze Evans first appeared in the small-town newspaper, she earned fans by writing a story about her bachelor uncle who brought a Queen of the Rodeo to Thanksgiving dinner. Now, fifty years later, when the beloved columnist suffers a massive stroke and falls into a coma, publisher Susan McGrath fills the void (temporarily, she hopes) with Haze\u2019s past columns, along with the occasional reprinted responses from readers. Most letters were favorable, although Haze did have her trolls; one Joseph Snell in particular dubbed her \u201cliberal\u201d ideas the \u201cchronicles of a radical hag.\u201d Never censoring herself, Haze chose to mollify her critics with homey recipes—recognizing, in her constantly practical approach to the world and her community, that buttery Almond Crescents will certainly \u201cmelt away any misdirected anger.\u201dFramed by news stories of half a century and annotated with the town\u2019s chorus of voices, Haze\u2019s story unfolds, as do those of others touched by the Granite Creek Gazette, including Susan, struggling with her troubled marriage, and her teenage son Sam, who—much to his surprise—enjoys his summer job reading the paper archives and discovers secrets that have been locked in the files for decades, along with sad and surprising truths about Haze\u2019s past. With her customary warmth and wit, Lorna Landvik summons a lifetime at once lost and recovered, a complicated past that speaks with knowing eloquence to a confused present. Her topical but timeless Chronicles of a Radical Hag reminds us—sometimes with a subtle touch, sometimes with gobsmacking humor—of the power of words and of silence, as well as the wonder of finding in each other what we never even knew we were missing.

About this title

Review:

"A comic love letter to journalism and literature, Lorna Landvik’s newest novel is smart, funny, and intimate, with a terrifically memorable cast of small-town characters. Read the book, then head for the kitchen and start baking. Delicious!"—Julie Schumacher, author of The Shakespeare Requirement

"With a sprinkle of some very special Minnesota magic, Lorna Landvik has once again created an absolute delight on the page. Chronicles of a Radical Hag is a tribute to hardworking journalists, the power of feminism, and, as always, the importance of friends and family. Book clubs will be gathering with platters of Almond Crescents and coffee as they talk long into the night."—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books

From the Author:

Lorna Landvik is the author of twelve novels, including the bestselling Patty Jane’s House of Curl,Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, Oh My Stars, Best to Laugh (Minnesota, 2015), and Once in a Blue Moon Lodge (Minnesota, 2017). She has performed stand-up and improvisational comedy around the country and is a public speaker, playwright, and actor most recently in the one-woman, all-improvised show Party in the Rec Room. She lives in Minneapolis. 

About this edition

• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1517905990
• ISBN 13: 9781517905996
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320