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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Like attending a reunion in your old hometown., 12 Jun 2003
No matter where you come from, Hassler’s Staggerford feels like home, and his characters like the old friends (and nemeses) you probably grew up with. With an unerring eye for the universally mundane, and an ear for the commonplaces we all expect in conversations with old friends, Hassler brings Staggerford to life during the "flood of the century," as the Badbattle River overflows and inundates the town one spring.There’s nothing like a good emergency to inspire Agatha McGee, the 80-year-old spinster who once taught most of Staggerford at St. Isidore’s School. Ignoring ill health, she takes charge among her neighbors and friends, inviting seven unlikely people to ride out the storm in her house on the highest land along the river. With warmth and great good humor, Hassler recreates their long-standing friendships and loyalties, along with the gossip, resentments, and long memories which make life in any small town a community activity. For Hassler’s long-time readers, this novel is like a reunion--everyone in the old gang, from all the previous novels, is here, older, perhaps, but still going strong. Beverly Bingham, the sad teenager who found refuge with Agatha in Hassler’s first novel (Staggerford) returns as the mature mother of a schizophrenic son. Lolly Edwards, the radio gossip who held her own memorial service so that she could hear what people would say about her (Rookery Blues), and her son, Leland, now President of Rookery State, are back, along with Fr. Frank Healy (North of Hope). Agatha’s shy nephew, Frank Lopat; her best friend, Lillian Kite and her termagant daughter, Imogene; Janet Raft Meers, the young woman who looks after her; lookalike sisters Calista and Dort Holister from Willoughby, and many others continue their stories here. The characters are believable, the dialogue is pitch perfect, and the community dynamics show Hassler’s sensitivity to and love for the subtleties of small town life. The behavior of the characters is completely consistent with their personalities as we know them, and their ability to remain individuals while also acting for the good of the community is one of Hassler’s greatest achievements. Readers unfamiliar with Hassler’s previous novels have many delights in store. Hassler is careful to explain past histories here so that new readers can enjoy the novel almost as much as devotees of the previous novels. Because the previous novels give deeper insights into individual characters over more concentrated periods of time, new readers are urged to start with one of the earlier novels first in order to enjoy this one more fully. This is a "grand finale" of a novel, one you don’t want to reach too soon. Mary Whipple
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