Delicate Armor - Brossura

Szarke, Connie Claire

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0988536315 ISBN 13: 9780988536319

Casa editrice: Heron Bay Pub, 2013

Riassunto

Set in the Upper Midwest, 1952-1991, Delicate Armor is the story of several generations of the Lindstrom family. Having no son, Will Lindstrom places his energy in young Callie, a cheeky girl who shares his bond with the outdoors. Inducted into the world of men and privy to their dreams and struggles, Callie learns to navigate waves of family conflict and loss while realizing her own place in the world. Delicate Armor is about lost time, the tenacity of the human spirit, and our narrator's emerging consciousness as she passes from young girl to self-possessed woman, who, along the way, pays tribute to the land and to her microcosm of men.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Connie Claire (Peterson) Szarke grew up in Slayton, southwestern Minnesota, amid small towns, farmland, woods, myriad sloughs, lakes, and prairie land. Her grandfather, Victor G. Peterson, and her father, Clair D. Peterson, a former Murray County Auditor, were renowned outdoorsmen and trapshooters in the area. Szarke's undergraduate degrees in French and Art were from St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota. A career teacher at Chaska Senior High School, she supervised students at the Model United Nations assembly in Winnipeg, Canada, organized travel-study programs to France, and served as on-site coordinator in Paris for law-grads studying international dispute resolution, arbitration, and mediation. Szarke's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have won prizes and appeared in anthologies and magazines, including Stories Teachers Tell, Dust & Fire, Lake Country Journal Magazine, Community Connections, The Minnesota Project, The Cub of the Golden Lion Passes in Review for Veterans of the 106th Infantry Division, survivors of the Battle of the Bulge, and The Talking Stick, volumes 14-18, placing first in the 2009 competition and first in the 2010 Bloomington Creekside poetry competition. A lifelong classical pianist, Szarke also enjoys skiing in the Rockies and kayaking with her Shetland Sheepdogs on a bay west of the Twin Cities, where she lives and writes, inspired by the natural world.AUTHOR HOME: Mound, Minnesota

Dalla seconda/terza di copertina:

“I finished Delicate Armor today. Loved it. The story stayed true. It had very strong characters that were believable. Cal reminds me of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. She reveals a complex, powerful story of family, but does not turn it into a big overblown drama. Actually, Will reminds me of Atticus and his true-to-self and honest way of living. The figurative language was just right: beautiful descriptions, clear metaphors, tight dialogue. I was truly intrigued [by] how the author wove in the flashbacks. I was pulled into the times of the 1950s, as well as Amer's story. It was a book I hated to set down and now am sad it is over.” —Jodi Anderson, Secondary Literacy Coordinator, Greeley/Evans Public Schools, Greeley, Colorado A Possible classic: “This lovely story is told by a young girl growing up in a small town in Minnesota. She chants about her relationships with family and the town's people with their frequently odd behavior and characters...The author gives us truly beautiful descriptions of nature and the enduring relationship between the girl and her father...I strongly recommend this book, especially to city-dwellers who have not experienced the wilder parts of our nation.” —Nike, posted on Amazon.com Like a Friend: “I took my time reading “Delicate Armor” because the book was like a friend and I didn't want our relationship to end! The characters were so endearing, especially Callie. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to be transported back to a place and time where memorable characters live, characters who you will wish you could meet in real life.” —Debbie Pea, poet A Remarkable Coming of Age Novel: “...extraordinary in-depth...poetic flow of rich imagery...lively dialogue...a well-deserved twice finalist in the Midwest Independent Publishers Awards...[Callie's] experiences are firmly anchored in detailed, regional descriptions, and the reader cannot help but experience with her their coldness, heat, sharp winds, and beauty...a moving, lovingly depicted account of growing up amidst the lakes, woods, and cornfields of middle-America. —Dr. Laurel Means, author, editor, reviewer Memorable characters! “Szarke has created memorable characters, a realistic family drama and an honest look at small town America in the 1950s...there is a reason certain books find us and we find ourselves within the pages of a good book.” —Laura Lanik, “BookSnob” blog “Move over, Mattie Ross of 'True Grit.' Take a break, Huck Finn. Here comes Callie Lindstrom, as winsome a little mischief-maker as you'll ever want to meet. She's the star of Connie Claire Szarke's first novel Delicate Armor and once you've met her you're not likely to forget her.” —Robert Lacy, professor, author of The Natural Father “The story in Delicate Armor could have been mine. As a son, I was raised to think that some day when I became a father, I, too, would have a son to pass on my love of outdoor pursuits. Instead, my journey through fatherhood included two daughters who became my fishing partners, hunting companions, and morel mushroom stalkers. What really matters is the journey through life so elegantly described by Connie Claire Szarke.” —Ron Schara, outdoorsman and host of “Minnesota Bound” television show “Szarke writes with compassion and artistry about a young girl coming of age. A keen-eyed observer of the challenges that confront her family, Callie takes us on a journey from joy to sorrow and back again. Delicate Armor is a compelling and deeply-absorbing read.” —Dr. Brent Spencer, professor of English, Creighton University, author of Rattlesnake Daddy “Huckleberry, Scout..., Szarke's Callie is one of these, a sun-browned, scratched-up, feisty and fearless girl, and it's a rare pleasure to experience the world through her alert and inquisitive eyes. She's a daddy's girl, intense with enthusiasm for her father's outdoor pursuits, and that father is worthy of her love for him. As an adult, despite experience that might have shattered her, Callie's good health continues, often expressed by the love and understanding she brings to the men in her family, especially the father who had so much to do with her ongoing wholeness. Szarke is above the cheap shots that other writers may have taken at these men, and Callie remains true to the child she once was, a not-so-common feat in the literature of our time. This book was crafted ever so carefully over long years, and the reader will find the sensory detail that brims from its pages an ongoing delight.” — Joe Paddock, poet, oral historian, environmental writer, author of Keeper of the Wild “My affection for Callie, the feisty but tender-hearted narrator, grew with each chapter, as did my admiration for the author's ability to tell a good story and her wonderful ear for language. Scene by scene, this carefully crafted story is a joy to read.” — Stephen Wilbers, syndicated columnist, author, and senior fellow at the U of MN “Set against a lovingly depicted backdrop of the natural world, Connie Claire Szarke's penetrating coming-of-age novel captures the complexities and tensions of a rural American family. Inducted into the outdoors world by her father, Callie Lindstrom witnesses firsthand the jealousies, losses, and tenderness that have permeated her family's history. Under Szarke's clear eye and deft touch, the reader follows Callie's growth from a cheeky tomboy to a self-possessed woman, cheering for her on every page.” — Pamela Carter Joern, author of The Floor of the Sky “A lovely look backward at a tender father/daughter relationship.” — Faith Sullivan, author of The Cape Ann “...la lecture de Delicate Armor...j'adore. J'ai toujours une nostalgie du Minnesota quand je le prends en main. Je trouve que c'est bien écrit et que la façon de raconter est pleine de fraîcheur. Un vrai plaisir!” (translation: “...the reading of Delicate Armor...I love. I feel homesick for Minnesota whenever I have the book in hand. I find it well-written and the story-telling full of freshness. A real pleasure!” —Martine, Jr. High School principal, Strasbourg, France

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Heron Bay Pub
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0988536315
• ISBN 13: 9780988536319
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 2
• Numero di pagine: 343