Blue Straggler [Kindle Edition]

Ms. Harris has a great ear for dialogue, and a keen eye for character in this sweet novel. I laughed out loud in parts, and many of the images stayed with me a long time. Just the thing for today's discerning fiction reader. (BTW I am not the same Kathy H who wrote the book! just a coincidence of our similar names)

As a Texas girl who packed up her Honda and got out of the state as well, I loved this book. The characters are so richly drawn, and the story humorous yet poignant. Harris is one of those rare writers who has real affection for the people she creates--no judgment, no disdain--and because of that you warm to the characters quickly, flaws and all. She has a cinematic gift for dialog, scene, and atmosphere that keeps you reading. I found myself picturing scenes in that Texas cafe, high in those Rocky Mountains, long after I finished the last page. And Mac, well he's a Colorado version of Sex and the City's Aidan. Need I say more??

I kindled the Blue Straggler because a friend suggested it. I prefer history and politics, so I started reading it out of a sense of loyalty to a friend. I'm glad I did. It was a great read, fun and delightful. I was amused by the characters I recognized, not in a personal sense; but, in the sense that I kept saying to myself, "I know people just like that." The five-star rating other reviewers have given this book seems spot on to me. The dialogue was fascinating. The author's manipulation of thoughts and suggestions into the ebb and flow of conversation was compelling. Sometimes, I stopped reading the story and thought about her style, the mechanics of how she was telling the story. The mechanics she employed during dialogues gave each of the characters a certain sense of spontaneity that enhanced their already carefully crafted appearance of being alive. Her constant-------and never boorish--------insertion of the "cliches" common to south Texas always fit precisely into the flow of the story and the accretion-like layering of her characters. Her use of humor, throughout, helped me tolerate the early darkness of the Bailey character. Bailey's evolution was gratifying. At first, I certainly had my doubts whether I could like her. As she evolved, reached satisfaction about Annie and herself, I was reminded of the existential quest withing us all, the human individual seeking harmony in a transient life.
The "cherry on top" for me was the Bailey character' ability to separate from the pull of colloquialisms of her early environment without dismissing their relevance in her quest for harmony. The Texas/Colorado metaphor was brilliant. Texas, who she was,loved; but, ultimately did not want to be-----represented her family, her home, all that was familiar in her formative years, her placenta. Colorado was the detachment, the cutting of the umbilical cord. When she looked out over the valley on her Colorado landlord's property, didn't we already know that she had found her harmony.
As an aside, I always look for certain things when I read. I like respect for human dignity, fairness, caring for others. I like books that carry the water for good people and good causes, books that find worth in human beings for the sake of human beings. The courage to be kind, the strength to say that wealth and power are not worthy quests, all the while maintaining a sense of balance and realism---difficult to balance,for sure----but a sheer delight to me when juxtaposed. I found that personal quest for harmony in the Blue Straggler.