Sometimes, Darlings, A Book Does Live Up To Its Cover!!!!!!!!!!

                                         When "West Of Here" came out last year, the cover art, as you can see, struck me.  It looks like a combination of the artwork during the 1940s Golden Age Of Comics, and those early Boys' Adventure books.  It was clearly an historical novel, which I can be partial to, girls, but, after getting burned last year with "Matterhorn" (which got great reviews, but was so heavy handed I could not get through it!!!!!!!!) I had my doubts about Jonathan Evison's book.  So I mentally filed it away in my reading radar, promising myself I would read it sometime, if, indeed, sometime ever came!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           About a month ago, while browsing a Barnes and Noble near Downingtown, Pennsylvania, while visiting my father, the cover caught my eye again, and I decided to buy it, and give it a try!  Sweeties, let me tell you, if I had read this book when it came out last year, in hardback, it would have made my Ten Best List.  As of now, I can only highly recommend it!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              Evison's book straddles points and time, centered around a community called Port Bonita, Washington (the state), going back and forth in  time between the relative present (2006) and when Washington was on the eve of its statehood (1889, 1890!!!!!!!!)  While I found the past sequences more compelling, Evison's concept slowly becomes clear--the present day characters are clear descendants of the past ones, with two--Thomas in the past, and Curtis in the present--seeming to merge supernaturally.  And there is plenty of references to Sasquatch, more commonly known  as "Bigfoot."  "West Of Here" requires the reader to abandon himself, and be willing to go wherever Evison takes one.  I had no problem, and I was fascinated.  If memories of "Lonesome Dove" or James Michener's tomes popped into my head, Evison's clear, steady prose, blending both a colloquial style for the past and an almost hipster one for the present, makes his voice distinctive and original.  I simply could not stop reading this fascinating book, and so many of the characters--Thomas, Curtis, Rita, Hoko, Ethan, Eva Gertie--stood out for me.  The more I read about them, the more I wanted to know.

                                             Girls, I am telling you, I had never heard of Jonathan Evison before, but after this you can be sure he will be remembered. His only novel, prior to this, is a coming of age type story called "All About Lulu," which some reviewers, I read, compared to J.D. Salinger.  Oh, really??? If so, then  Evison must have all kinds of literary voices laid out for him, because there is nothing Salingeresque about "West Of Here," and whatever follows it will, I expect, not in any way echo the two earlier works.

                                                Which makes Jonathan Evison an author to keep an eye on!!!!!!!!!  And "West Of Here" a book to read for all my girls who like good fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Finally, a book that lives up to the glossiness of its cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   Now, make sure you put on that lip gloss, dolls, before going out!!!!!!!!!!!!