Cabin Lessons: A River – Book I of the Cabin Lessons Series
A free-spirited middle-aged woman leaves her husband and family to pursue her dreams in this second novel by Furst.
Furst’s debut novel, Everyday Truth of a Rainbow Woman, recounts the story of Grace Heronheart, a school psychologist from rural West Virginia who quits her job to become a writer. This follow-up rejoins Grace on her journey. The aspiring writer has formed a strong bond with an enigmatic “cabin-dweller” named Shaun, who lives alone by a river. Grace makes day trips to the river and talks with Shaun about “books, reading, writing, or his life in the cabin” while her son, Justin, swims in the river. It’s not long before passions flare between Grace and Shaun, and they become locked in a deeply sensual relationship. Grace leaves her unhappy marriage to live in the cabin, much to the chagrin of her son, who refuses contact with her. So continues Grace’s spiritual and literary adventure as she plunges deeper into a bohemian lifestyle, living simply and spending nights by the campfire listening to music, wrapped in Shaun’s arms, or embarking on road trips. As with the first book, the voice used here is first-person singular, and Furst has the uncanny knack of fooling readers into thinking that this is a memoir. Her writing has a natural confessional style that seems to speak directly from the heart: “The little voice inside me that had drawn me to him was not one of logic. I had given up on the world of logic several years earlier. I listened to the voice without knowing, without attachment.” Readers skeptical of New-Age spirituality may balk at some of the language: “Oya is the goddess of change and wind and weather. We spun in circles nine times and asked for gentle changes in our lives.” Yet those who enjoyed being introduced to Grace and learning about her past lives in this book’s prequel will delight in reuniting with her as she embarks on a new and exciting journey.
Sensual, spiritually intuitive writing.
Review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/janet-l-furst/cabin-lessons-a-river/
Review by George Brosi of Appalachian Mountain Books
This is an innovative novel told in the form of e-mails written by a retired West Virginia school psychologist to her college-aged eldest daughter. The “rainbow” in the title refers to the protagonist’s imagined earlier lives lived in three races – Native American, African American, and Asian American.
Source: https://apmtbooks.com/blogs/reviews/reviews-winter-2016
Everyday Truth of a Rainbow Woman
by Janet L. Furst
In this debut novel, a middle-aged woman explores past lives and present tensions in emails to her daughter.
“I was Sha Li, a priestess of the highest order, a worshipper of Kuan Yin, goddess of compassion and mercy.” So begins the first of many notes, via email, that Grace Heronheart drafted (and mostly sent) to Alyce, her college-aged, eldest daughter, just after Grace quit her 20-year job as a school psychologist in rural West Virginia. After noting that “our families probably think that I lost my marbles,” Grace tells Alyce that she’s actually “finding my rainbow colored, multifaceted marbles” by pursing her dream of being a writer. She provides her daughter with everyday-life updates, particularly regarding Alyce’s disapproving father; she also shares the story of her past incarnation as the aforementioned Sha Li, a secondary wife of a Chinese warrior. She tells tales of other past lives, such as Zete, a “dark-skinned” tribal “prophetess,” and Mourning Dove, a Native American who fell in love with a trapper. Along the way, Grace details the roles that Alyce and the rest of her present-day family played in these past existences. By novel’s end, she tells her daughter that she’s come to the conclusion that “I only write my own script. I cannot write anyone else’s,” and embarks on “a new adventure, and a new beginning.” First-time author Furst has written an engaging tale of midlife awakening that reads like a memoir, even as it skillfully deploys past-life metaphors. Grace’s missives combine the relatable tone of a typical email from a mom (such as when she applauds Alyce’s choice in boyfriend) with striking tableaux of imagined lives. Sha Li’s tale is particularly poignant and reminiscent of the works of Amy Tan and Jung Chang. It’s rather ambitious to cover three past lives and a conflict-ridden present, however, and the “P.S.” about Grace’s modern-day decision comes as a rather abrupt bombshell. Overall, though, Furst effectively sketches a character that lives out her assertion that “sanctuary can be found in all my rainbow stories.”
A memorable depiction of an emerging writer exploring the many prisms of her voice.
Source: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/janet-l-furst/everyday-truth-of-a-rainbow-woman/
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