Heaven, Indiana

Rating:
Summary: A Trip To "Heaven"
Review: And to think all these years, I thought Indiana was home only to a decent baseball team and lousy Chinese food! Instead, Jan Maher's little slice of "Heaven, Indiana" provides readers with a thought-provoking, deeply involving and utterly enjoyable reading experience, devoid of any of the affectations and contrivances found in many first novels. Ms. Maher beautifully captures the feel and rhythms of the Midwest, with clear, finely crafted prose and engaging characters who resonate long after the story is done.

For anyone who's ever lived (or loved) in a small town, the setting will ring familiar; and even city dwellers and suburbanites may find themselves half convinced that they, too, "remember" Heaven. But even beyond the richly textured setting, Maher gifts her readers with believable, multi-faceted characters facing real conflicts - all of which are seamlessly interwoven into a complex yet very readable tableau that is remarkably hard to put down.

Like comfort food, "Heaven, Indiana" leaves the reader well satisfied, and with the same sense of having consumed something of substance.

Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor; read this book.
Review: I have now read this book three times over a period of two years and I think a time will come when I read it once again. The first time was for the story. The second time was to try and understand how, in so few pages, the author "did it," that is, created a world and people so vivid and memorable that they continued to haunt me long after I finished not only this book, but at least three dozen others. The third time was to see if it was as good as I remembered; it was.
There is something about the loneliness and self-sufficiency of the characters, something about their secrets and their passions, their loyalties and the fact that they remain mysteries to each other, that keeps me attached to this book in a way I can only assert, but not explain. I have given copies to several friends, all of whom loved it.

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing story, beautifully written
Review: I seldom want to reread a novel once I have completed it. This is not the case with Heaven, Indiana. Heaven takes me back to the books I read as a teenager and young adult. The characters are vivid without Jan Maher's describing every pore. The interwoven setting and story are comforting and frightening in reminding me of much of American life before homogenization and simplification by Hollywood/TV.

I'm ordering copies for gifts. I would like to afford more than two at this time. Excelent writing and a book for more nights under the reading lamp.