Kansas Books

Earlene Fowler does a wonderful job of making cozies that aren't too sweet or too sentimental. She presents smart, funny, imperfect characters you would recognize within your own community.

I am enjoying reading this series and this was the best so far. It was very hard to put the book down once I got started.

This book works on many levels. It works as a mystery and as a story for anyone who has ever had to meet new in-laws and older friends of their new spouse.

I enjoyed this book it reels you in as if you are a part of the characters. Definetly recomend the series to all mystery readers.

This was my first Benni Harper book and I loved it! I will admit, though, I got to meet a lot of people in my next book since this one didn't have any of the major secondary characters. I love the dynamics of the Benni/Gabe relationship and how real it is!

In 1936, the drought in Kansas took a toll on just about everything. Anna Mae's marriage was no exception. Doubt assails her when her husband Harley leaves to take a government job, and temptation comes to tempt her in the form of her former beau, Jack Berkeley. Anna Mae must dig deep to find the fortitude and faith to get through it all.

Kim Vogel Sawyer has created a stunningly beautiful story in WHERE WILLOWS GROW. With a deftly intertwined message of faith in the face of adversity, Vogel Sawyer brings this poignant tale of unrelenting hope and undying love to vivid life. WHERE WILLOWS GROW will touch readers' hearts and deepen their faith, all the while bringing a smile, and perhaps a tear, to their faces. Vogel Sawyer's style flows smoothly, engaging readers completely and making this novel a non-stop reading experience.

You can't ask for more. This book is one that you get into quickly, read in a few days, and pass on to a friend. You will ENJOY reading this book- and that's what it's all about, right?! It about real life, yet is wholesome and will stick with you. And it brought my friend closer to God!

This book starts out very strong, very intriguing and promises a lot but it failed to deliver on the same note midway through.

When I started this book, I was reminded of my favourite book; Redeeming Love. I thought that 'Where Willows Grow' would even if not rival it, give it a run for it's money; a piece of Christian fiction that wouldn't paint with words the equivalent of those pictures you see on Jehovah's Witness publications but that would paint pictures of real life, true Christian struggles and triumph.

It is an intriguing, tough start that undeniably invites you to see this book through. I couldn't put it down when I first picked it up. Even though I knew from the beginning how it'd end, I looked forward to how it would all unravel in between.

The writer makes one too many uses of characters as plot devices, instead of characters worth caring about. The ending wrapped up too neatly and perhaps shoddily, I nearly gagged from it and I seriously wished the writer could have held out a little and taken more time to finish this book and a better middle and ending would have come to her and this book would have turned out a whole lot better. It had a lot of potential but did not quite deliver.

However, I still give it 4 stars because the beginning of the book to it's middle is well worth it; you can feel the heat, the hardness of the land, strongly sense frustrated love and enjoy Dottie's cuteness.

Sawyer is a wonderful writer with a real feel for human emotion. She somehow manages to place her readers right smack dab in the middle of her stories. You feel each character's pain and heartbreak and then, joy.
I eagerly await each new book by this author. A word of warning: have your tissues handy for this one.

Reviewed by AJ Cooper for Reader Views (7/07)

Anna Mae and Harley are two hard-working parents trying to work the farm in Kansas in 1936 that they inherited from Anna Mae's parents. It has not rained in a long time and it is harder and harder for them to produce anything of value from the farm and to raise two daughters, Dorothy and Marjorie. Harley comes up with this grand idea; he would travel all the way across Kansas to help build a castle. In the process of discovering this faraway job opportunity, he sells of the mules. He is so proud of his decision and the fact he is able to not only bring home some food for his family, but to also bring home specials treats for everyone.

Anna Mae is now left to tend to the farm with the help of the overly-friendly neighbor Jack, her long-ago boyfriend. Jack does many things to ensure that Anna Mae doubts her husband's intentions, even going as far as hiding mail between the two of them. He also holds Harley's paychecks so that Anna Mae has no way to pay the taxes due on the property. Fortunately Mr. Berkley, Jack's dad, discovers what Jack is up to before it is too late and is able to save the farm for Anna Mae. Jack is furious because he had so many plans for him and what he thinks is his new family.

Harley, in the meantime, has started his walk across Kansas to his new job. Along the way he meets the Farley family and promises to allow Dirk, their son, to travel with him for a possible job at the castle. They both are able to start work on the castle and come across many pitfalls and an accident. Harley does not send word home of the accident because he thinks Anna Mae is horribly mad at him.

I really enjoyed reading "Where Willows Grow," and could not put it down until I had completed it. I could totally understand the desperation for survival during those horrible times of no rain in Kansas, with the dust just blowing and blowing. I felt I was part of the family and would get so mad at Jack for all of the devious things he was doing to win over Anna Mae's heart. I was so relieved when Jack's dad discovered his plot and stepped in to save Anna Mae. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a little bit of Kansas history and for a touching story. I wanted "Where Willows Grow" to go on further so I could see what would happen next, and I was disappointed when the book ended.

Some very interesting chapters, but looks like each were articles consolidated into a book after the fact because it plows the same ground repeatedly. Good info. Some chapters are excellent. A little distracting to read almost the identical words repeated over and over.

There are many good, solid pieces of information in this book. It was valuable in the descriptions of HOW the infantry and artillery joined forces in the ETO - the descriptions of actual methods were detailed and very informative. The only negative remark I have about this excellent book is that there was a lot of " in summary" information that was a bit tedious. Not enough to make the book unreadable, though, and not enough to keep anybody from buying it.

This is the most highly-detailed, concise book on WW2 American tactics that I have found. If your general impression from war movies and TV is that soldiers on both sides just sort of mill around out there, firing rifles and ducking for cover at random (mine, I confess), then you are in for a real education. This book is to that idea what grandmaster chess is to rock-paper-scissors. I would imagine this would be required reading in ROTC programs, and I have no doubt that anyone with a professional interest in the real craft of miltary operations would appreciate it. I'm a little less sure about the ordinary WW2 historical reader - it may tell you more than ever really wanted to know. I DO think it is worthwhile for any reader to absorb the author's primary contention about the US Army in WW2: It eventually developed thru trial-and-error into an excellent combat force at every level, winning thru smarts and technique. It did not just steamroll the outmanned opposition with too much of everything indifferently applied, as much conventional wisdom to this day suggests.

Michael Doubler argues that the US Army in World War II was more effective than it is often portrayed. After learning some basics in North Africa and Italy, the Army developed true combined arms tactics starting in Normandy, and due to the Army's decentralized nature, successful ideas spread throughout the whole organization. Hedgerow assault tactics developed in several divisions in Normandy and quickly spread throughout the whole army, allowing the Allies to break the deadlock. Close air support techniques as effective as any of the war were pioneered by IX TAC. Tactics for assaulting fortifications and crossing rivers developed contrary to doctrine, as doctrine was seen more as a rough guideline rather than something to be strictly followed. The book is well written and difficult to put down at times, giving an excellent discussion of tactics and tactical development. The author makes his case as convincing as it perhaps can be made. This is why the book deserves 5 stars. Nevertheless, the book has some flaws and should be read only along with other viewpoints. Despite admitting to serious errors with the replacement system, supply, and operations, it seems that the author views the army through rose colored glasses, perhaps because he looks at the low levels of command. The high command was another matter. Except for tank destroyers, the book gives little insight into the flawed concepts of Leslie McNair and their effect on weaponry and tactics. McNair's ideas caused the inferiority of American tanks during the war, a topic not even touched on in the book. In fact, although the book gives a very good treatment of the infantry, the armored divisions are neglected, and I was left wanting more detail on the artillery. Overall, this book would be a valuable addition to your collection, but it should be read along with viewpoints to get a broader view.

This book is a superior work and is invaluable to the military professional interested in small unit tactics. COL Doubler has assembled exhaustive detail and provides a masterful analysis of the small unit tactics employed by the German Army and US Army in late WWII. He does so in a manner that is both easy to read and easy to extract: each chapter examines a specific tactical problem or environment. Read the whole thing and use it as a reference later. Military Historians will love it for the detail, but Military Professionals should read this book if they want to see a systematic discussion not only of WHAT the soldiers did, but why they did it that way and how it turned out. If you are an American Soldier add this book to your reading list: much of what you are taught is not tactics, but battle drills. Read this book and see how an earlier generation confronted seemingly insurmountable problems and solved them by thinking for themselves.

At first, I could not get used to the transition between chapters/stories. I was finding it difficult to follow and get to know the characters. As I continued to read, the characters began to reappear and become interesting. Also, in the beginning, I was not in the mood for reading in prose. With the author's compelling writing, that quickly changed as I enjoyed her rhythmic phrases. She has a tremendous gift for relaying information in a story without directly saying it. For instance, description of Irene not being able to deliver her "Creation" speech due to racial prejudice was adeptly told without using incendiary descriptions.

Some of the chapters were so engaging, and the ending so unexpected that they left me really feeling like I wanted to somehow interact with them. I wanted to maybe scream at someone or impact them in some other negative way. Overall, I enjoyed reading Rattlebone, and would recommend it.

A great book, made up of several interrelated stories, each looking at the different problems and situations that African Americans in the 50's had to face. Set in a town called Rattlebone, in Kansas City, Kansas. Irene, the main character in the book, is a young girl, who gets to witness most of the mishaps of life in those times.

Rattlebone, Kansas. Circa 1950. A group of related short stories paints a picture of the town of Rattlebone, Kansas and its inhabitants. Driven by strong characterizations, Maxine Clair's Rattlebone introduces us to Irene, a young girl living there as she grows, experiences, and blooms. Other notable characters include the Red Quanders, a group of people living together in a kinship environment, reminiscent of Igbo and other West African traditionalists, October Brown, Irene's grade school teacher, and Nick, Irene's introduction to love and all things pre-pubescent.

In essence, the tales tell two sides to every story, first relaying how a character is perceived by others and also how a character perceives himself or herself. The stories and characters all tie together if they do not pronounce themselves with novel-like fluency. Clair even continues a character's (October Brown) story in her second fiction title, October Suite. Each of these stories has its own moral, its own personality, its own undercurrent of emotion and is, thus, worthy of any reader's attention.

Reviewed by CandaceK

This is the best book! Once I started it I didn't want to stop. Towards the end of this book, I started to read slowly so it would not end. This book is really cool in that all of the stories inter-twine and come together by the end of the book. Some parts made me want to cry, while other parts made me want to stand up and shout YIPPIE! I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Rattlebone is great book to read, not for just African-Americans, but for the many people who have encountered a moment of being different. Maxine Clair used many different interviews she had to come up with the different chapters she had in this novel. In doing so, she opened my eyes to another world that I had yet to discover. Her stories made me realize that society today, has way more than what it had in the past. We need to stop blaming one another for the past, and make what we have now, so much better so that we don't have to live the lives of the characters in Rattlebone.

I love what these guys have done with the dog treat industry. This book had more of a story to it rather than just recipes.

This book is mostly an entrepreneurial autobiograhy, interesting only if you want to start a similar firm or know the owners personally. The writing style is annoyingly self-congratulatory. There are only a handful of recipes. If you have a bit of baking skill, you can easily come up with better ones on your own. My dog and I received this book as a gift along with some treats from the Three Dog Bakery. The treats were great; the book is not. I wouldn't recommend it as a gift.

Like everyone else, I loved the story of this family, men and dogs, and how they came to build their business. It was a true American entrepreneurial tale, and I'm glad they've had success. The descriptions of the dogs were also compelling.

I have to admit, though, that I've tied several of the recipes, and my dog never cared much for the results. The ginger snaps in particular seemed inedible to him. I've made many other dog biscuits for him using recipes from other places and out of the newspaper that sent him over the moon.

If you don't plan to use the recipes, I highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful story and well written.

I really liked this book and have read it twice. Some parts of it were humorous. In short, I recommend this book to all dog lovers and owners!

I saw a show on Food Network about the Three Dog Bakery and found out about their cookbook. I have 4 dogs, a sheltie, a toy pomeranian, a st.bernard/retriever mix, and a "heinz 57", they all love it when I spend the day in the kitchen cooking. My favorite form of relaxation !! There is an invisible line they do not cross between the dining room and the kitchen, so all 4 will sit at the line and wait for a treat... they don't really understand but now they get a lot more treats than before and it only took a couple of times with the new "doggie treat" jar for them to all sit, with tails wagging and tongues hanging out waiting for the dog friendly and healthy treats... The treats are easy to make, most of the ingredients are readily available in my kitchen and they store well... I collect cookbooks and this one has moved to a prominent place on the shelf...

Great biography of a Western Civil War barbarian. When it came to being ruthless during The American Civil War, Bloody Bill broke all bounderies. Not for the weak of heart!!

This book reads like a romantic western novel. A description of Anderson: "Dressed entirely in black- hat, velvet shirt, pants, boots- he was lean and sinewy and looked taller sitting in the saddle of his large black horse than his actual height of five ten." (p. 11, hardback edition) It continues like that for another 150 pages or so. The only thing missing is voluptuous maidens.
Castel's biography of Quantrill doesn't read like this, and Goodrich's "Black Flag" doesn't really have much style at all, as it is mostly quotes from primary sources. I don't know why they felt the need to write this the way they did, but it ruins the story. Both authors have done their work in researching, but the writing leaves much to be desired. A definitive account of Anderson still needs to be written.

The authors appear to have done their research, and present the story in mixed third person objectivity and first person period prose. For the casual reader who has an interest in Civil Warfare, or more specifically, the Kansas-Missouri Border War, this is an entertaining book. For the scholar, it must be taken with a grain of salt. The authors have taken literary license to the extreme in their description of scenery, battlefield and camp site conditions, personal conversations, et cetera. Although the essence of news-worthy situations are, more often than not, accurately portrayed in historic newspapers, the use of quotes and eye-witness accounts are often biased and stretch the truth. The authors appear to continue in this vein of sensationalistic reporting. There is no way the authors could know of the detailed conversations that took place between officers, combatants, and/or farmers, and thus, their factual portrayal of these more intimate situations must be questioned. If they had told the story entirely in the third person, this book would be good and much needed reference. As presented, with interjections in the first person literary style, the book lacks a degree of credibility. This is unfortunate, as it is a great story of guerrilla warfare and otherwise well-written. 170 pp., Stackpole Books (1998).

Thomas Goodrich did an outstanding job of researching his subject. I've read many other accounts of Anderson, but this is the most complete and revealing. It's unfortunate that Stackpole insisted on bringing Castel into the mix, as the two men's writing styles are so different. The end product, though the best work so far on a fascinating man, doesn't equal Goodrich's original work.

Bloody Bill Anderson was a product of savagery in the early days of the Civil War's influence on Kansas and Missouri. The border war there was bloody and brutal. An eye for an eye conflict that escalated beyond anyone's imagination. The region was devastated. The atrocities that men were willing to commit against each other on both sides of the fratricide in that area are horrendous. Rocketing out of that soup came Bloody Bill. He is the prototype of a deadly psychopath. He was sadistic, ruthless and devoid of conscience.

Castel and Goodrich have outdone themselves in taking what little historical data is available to present as thorough an accounting of Bill Anderson's life as you're likely to find. They hone in on two of his most infamous rampages around Centralia, Missouri. You'll believe you were an eyewitness. However, they don't fabricate the stories or engage in fiction. The book is thoroughly researched and very credible in every detail. They could only have exceeded in this endeavor if there were more firsthand historical data to draw from.

Fact is Bloody Bill was a real individual and these events really did transpire. You will be transfixed even as you are horrified.

This book had me from the begining! I was pulled into this book until she started to go back and tell you how everything happened. I would not recommend this book to anyone b/c when she went back and told you everything I started to lose interest in the storyline. I'm sorry Ms. Monroe, but try again with this one! No I did not read the other story by Victor McGlothin!

Borrow Trouble was both refreshing and exciting. Mary Monroe really knows how to keep you wanting more. She took a simple vacation and turned it into something that can easily happen to anyone. Victor McGlothin on the other hand kept my attenion and painted a vivid picture. I felt as though I was there running right beside Baltimore each step of the way.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sister, "Bad Luck Shadow" by Victor McGlothin introduces us to Baltimore Floyd. If you thought Walter Moseley's Easy Rawlings was the man, look out because Baltimore is in the house. Baltimore comes at just the right time. Walter Moseley now has Easy in current times as an old man and Victor takes us right back to a time when Men were men and ladies are ladies. Back to a time when men wore brims and were dressed to the nines. Baltimore doesn't need Mouse as a side kick or to do his dirty work, the brother has no fear. Victor thanks for Baltimore and I'll be standing in line waiting to hear what Baltimore is up to next. RIP Easy Rawlings and move over Walter Moseley, Baltimore Floyd and Victor McGlothin are on the scene.

This book keeps you hanging on the edge! I have always loved Monroe, but had never heard of McGlothin. McGlothin is my next new author. This book keeps you hanging until the end and then craving the next one.

The two novels were very closely related because both gave kudos to friendships which were outside of a husband and wife relationship.

Mary Monroe's novel keeps you flipping pages one right after the next; there's never a dull moment with poor little innocent Renee's life. Inez was Renee's true friend to the end; and that's exactly how the story ended, with Inez being there for Renee in the end; even more so than Renee's husband. With friends like Inez, who needs husbands like Leon?!

Victor McGlothin's novel, contrary to Mary Monroe's, started out extremely slow; so much until I almost stopped reading; but it eventually turned around. Victor's character Baltimore Flynch was very detailed in description. Baltimore was a southern hustler (so to speak) with good looks and an even better conversation piece. Baltimore's theory for living was "kill or be killed," and the ladies loved him for that. He routinely put his life on the line for his close friend Henry. Although Baltimore was exceptionally fiercely driven, he had a soft side as well; and his kind heart may have been just the thing to save his life...

I have started my Christmas shopping and ordered this for my son-in-law. I'm sure he will enjoy it. This looks to be right up his alley (chimney).

Robert Day has written a whimsical story which entertains and informs. Much of the humor, which is in abundance, is tongue-in-cheek. The characterizations are somewhat cartoonish, but fit the story line and make the reader care about events unfolding. Spandler Tukle is a character, the likes of which we have all met at one time or another in our lives. The reader will enjoy the journey through modern day Kansas under some old-time conditions. We know that this cattle drive can't happen with today's city ordinances, laws, speed limits, littering rules etc., but what a pity it can't. How many of you would sign on for this adventure? A majority, I think.

If you are comfortable with the bi-polar qualities of Kansas, you will love this read. A comparison between the rural plains on the west and the contemporary city and college on the east. You don't have to be from Kansas to enjoy this book, but will enjoy it more if you ever tried to ride a horse later in life or make a binjy cow do what you want it to do. Just trust me, if you enjoy authentic characterizations of plains people, you will love this book. A cross between a Ken Haruf and a David Sedaris.

I just can't think of a book I've ever enjoyed more, in my last two decades, and I've read all kinds of things in my adult life.
I'm 45. In my college years at the University of Kansas in the late 70s, I kept hearing about this book, but it *sounded* kinda boring, so I never bothered reading it. I wish I had -- it's a great book. I wouldn't have felt so alone.
I've lived in kansas most of my life, and the character sketches Day makes of his book people -- especially Spangler and Opal Tukle, and Jed, and the farmers and ranchers that they meet along the way to Kansas City -- are so well formed! And funny! And the depictions of Kansas as being far away from real civilization are dead on, too -- like the non-degreed teachers at the protagonist's school just laughing and throwing away the new dictum from the state, saying that all teachers have to be degreed and certified. That would have happened in Kansas!
Great, great book. The only person I didn't like was the protagonist -- he was a whiny, spoiled little ingrate, I thought, not much better than the awful Harold -- but despite that, I loved the book.

Anyone who has lived around cattle, horses, and the people who work them knows these characters under a different name. Same is true of the dialog. The author has done a great job bringing these things to life.

I thought this was a wonderful series, but i must say i thought this book was my favorite of the series. I couldn't put this book down, and i often stayed up late reading it. It kind of leaves you hanging at the end, but i would say this book is worth the money!!!

The book was a gift for my daughter who has read other books in this series and quite enjoys them. She is happy to have it and is busy reading it.

This book and each of the Prairie River books were very interesting. Kristiana Gregory characters in the series help give me an insight of how life was experienced in the 1800's. Her discription of each character spoke to me as if I was living there myself. I give a rating of five stars to each book in the series.

A Journey of Faith is, like my title, a book to remember. I just loved it. It's a very unique blend of a girl striving to survive and to seem older than her fourteen years, but also can't let go of her childhood. It's about a determined, but not headstrong orphan girl named Vanessa/Nessa, and she is running away from marrying a bland old preacher, Pastor McDuff. She settles in Prairie River, somewhere out west (this is 1865, ya know, after the Civil War and Lincoln's assasination) and meets rivals and friends, is blamed and rewarded, and the contrasting doesn't make you confused, mind you. You read this book. Promise?
(I sound like a grandma, but read it anyway. You'll be glad you listened to me if you do.)

I usually don't read these kinds of books, but once I started this one, I couldn't put it down. It is written for juveniles and thus it moves at a fast pace and doesn't really have a lot of low points. Some parts are rather difficult to believe, but the intent is to show young readers how their faith can be exemplified through fictional characters.

There are really no villains in this book. Some people don't like Nessa Clemens, but the author doesn't really develop an evil antiheroine. None of the situations Nessa finds herself in are life-threatening and things always seem to work out. as I said, it is a book about faith more than the historical setting it takes place in.

If you think a coming of age story with food as a central character and recipes included sounds like fun, give this a try. It's enjoyable to read, and the recipes I tried are good too.

Here's another good one I lapped for the month of
June...This one is a feast for the Stomach and the
Soul.

The product of a cross-cultural family obsessed with
food, Weston Tito begins his story by saying he was a
seed in his parents' kitchens‹plural in both cases.
Weston's mother is Italian and works the successful
catering business BuenAppeTito upstairs; downstairs,
his father, who is fixated on cooking only indigenous
foods "Santa Fe style" (they live in Kansas City),
runs the Tsil Cafe, a restaurant as it is
tear-inducingly spicy. Wes' crib and later his cot are
literally in his mother's kitchen (in the cabinets,
for a while), and she teaches him her "vocabulary,"
the names of foods, by letting him taste them. His
father refuses him entry into his own obsessive
domain, almost a holy order, until he can claim to
enjoy such un-childlike flavors as habanero and
anchovy. After that, like a knight's apprentice, he is
allowed to help slice and chop ingredients -- carry
his own sword, in effect.

One of the points of contention between Wes'
hot-blooded parents is the local restaurant critic, an
old admirer of his mother's. Nevertheless, the critic,
who acts first as a teeter-totter between the two
adults, ultimately becomes a sort of bridge, giving
Wes his first opportunity to critique -- to see the
food of both parents objectively -- and start to
develop his own concept of food.

Over the years, Wes absorbs a rich stew of influences
and emotions from his mixed-ethnic family, along with
the various Mexican employees of the cafe who serve as
surrogate relatives and even a Native American
graduate student who takes him foraging for cactus and
cattails and invites him to a corn dance. Ultimately,
he will even marry the critic's female successor.

So pervasive is food in this coming-of-age novel that
the recipes become a reflection of life's shifting
flavors in Averill's kitchen novel. The almost

magic-realism intensity of the flavor descriptions and
the author's habit of dropping in dictionary
definitions of various terms such as "turkey,"
"mescal" and "maple" re-emphasizes the native quality
of the ingredients. The narrator's entire life is
lived in the study, anecdotal and later academic, of
foods; ultimately he will become a chef as well,
melding his parents' Old World and New World cuisines
into a One-World cuisine.

A great fascinating read!!

SECRETS OF THE TSIL CAFE is a creative and refreshing novel which endears itself to anyone who enjoys experimental cooking, a deep sense of family, and an appreciation of New World culture. It presents the challenge of growing up in the world of a rather unusual restaurant with its own special food critic. Dotting the novel's pages are descriptions of New World foods and rather exotic recipes which might challenge anyone's taste buds! The story itself captures the essence of a young man who grows to more fully understand himself by learning about his parents and his extended family.

I wouldn't want to "give away" the ending, but I think one would have to be asleep throughout to miss it on the horizon. As Wes Hingler makes his way from childhood to young adulthood, he learns the necessary but unremarkable lessons that all must learn: parents are imperfect, life isn't fair, people and pets die, hard work has it's rewards, etc. Eventually, he finds himself. There is a cast of enjoyable, if not always well-developed, characters, from whom Wes learns various lessons along the way, culminating in a rare meeting with his maternal grandfather. As a piece of writing I would have given this only 3-and-a-half stars. However, it is the context of the story that makes it a fun read. The narrative is interwoven with unique, adventurous recipes, which mark the protagonist's life lessons. What Thomas Averill's book lacks in the way of dramatic tension it more than makes up for in the inventiveness of his recipes and his use of them to move the story along.

This is a warm, engaging, and eccentric novel, which gourmands will find captivating. Its focus on a Southwestern cafe, of uncompromising native American cuisine is set in the seemingly unlikely "wonder bread" mid-west. Averill devotes little time to the possible disconnect with the cafe's surrounding environment but focuses upon the clash of indigenous peoples and cuisines with European incursions, and the inevitable fusion of both.

Philosophical, insightful and profound, albeit in a very subtle fashion. The author makes many worthwhile observations and statements about the encounter of these two cultures without being pedantic, and while having fun. This is a delightful novel, one which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.