Rating: 
Summary: Homesy, folksey charm
Review: A group of oddly disparate friends gathers regularly at the local coffee shop for conversation and what they call the "Tall Pine Polka", an expression of goodwill, happiness and general joie de vivre. The group consists of Lee, the owner of the coffee shop who is escaping a abusive husband, Miss Penk and Frau Katt, the towns' only lesbian couple, Pete, the proprietor of a shoe shop who secretly loves Lee, Mary who writes appallingly bad poetry and Fenny Ness, owner of the local hardware store. When a movie company decides to use the town as the setting for a movie and a musician named Big Bill moves into town, Lee and Fenny find themselves at odds for the first time as they both fall for the handsome and personable man, not realising that they both fancy him.
It's a pleasant read, full of amusing characters, a book to read when nothing too demanding is needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read
Review: I loved it and Im sure will read it again!
Being from Minnesota the title intreged me enough to ant to read the book and I was Not Disappointed!!!
Rating: 
Summary: a silly light read
Review: I read this on a plane, which was probably pretty appropriate. The author takes us into well-covered territory: a movie crew invades a small town full of lovable eccentrics. This scenario is handled much better in "State and Main." The characters here are almost irritatingly quirky, the plot predictable, the conclusions trite. Still, when you're stuck on a long flight, you could do a lot worse.
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Summary: Another wonderful novel by Lorna!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book -- almost as much as Patty Jane's House of Curl. I loved the quirky small town atmosphere, and I always looked forward to finding out what the charming characters were going to do next!
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting place!
Review: I'm a fan of Landvik's and asked to be notified as new books of hers become available. This one will not disappoint! Although Flame continues to be my favorite of her books, this one provides a broad array of lovable and eccentric characters who all manage to make sense out of the messiness that often prevails in our lives. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and seeing how the lives unfolded and continued to intertwine with one another. Her description of the area makes me want to go visit the place and enjoy a cup of O'Delight!
Rating:
Summary: Sweet, folksy, entertaining look at an unusual small town
Review: If you like the small-town, everybody-knows-your-name ambience of Jan Karon or Fannie Flagg novels, then you should give "The Tall Pine Polka" a whirl. Lorna Landvik's latest novel focuses on the residents of a small Minnesota town: their loves & losses & lessons they learn. As you might expect, there is a cast of eclectic, eccentric townfolk: coffee-shop owner/former battered wife Lee, orphan/souvenir shop owner/soon-to-be-Hollywood-starlet Fenny, delightful lesbian couple Miss Penk and Frau Katte, shoemaker-with-an-unrequited-love Pete, and sexy Native American newcomer Big Bill, to name a few. Interspersed - to great comic effect - are some California residents, too, as the plot revolves around the making of a Hollywood movie in this small town and the when-worlds-collide effect on the residents and filmmakers. Sure, the book's a little corny from time to time, and there are an awful lot of coincidences and tie-backs (a la a Seinfeld episode), but it's hard to beat a novel as spunky, fresh and ultimately upbeat as this one.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully inspring
Review: The story revolve round a group of lively coffee-lovers in a small town, the Tall Pine. Central to the story is the lovable Fenny Ness and her friend Lee. A summary of the story will not do justice to the book as all the characters in the book, no matter how small their roles were, made the whole book came alive. The story brought in Hollywood, romance and rivalry, and traces of tragedies, but through them all, the characters remained true to themselves and their beliefs. The whole book is so lively, so lovable that I found it hard to put down.Reading the book, I felt as if I know Fenny, Bill, Lee and gang all my life, sharing their laughter and tears. It was as if I am part of Cup O¡¦Delight. It made me feel inspired and encouraged at the thought that there is some place in the world where faults are accepted, where rules can be broken gracefully and where love conquers all.
Rating:
Summary: Amiable Cluelessness
Review: This book contains a set of amiably quirky characters from upstate Minnesota and Hollywood. The author's insider knowledge gives the moviemaking scenes (a considerable portion of the book) a degree of verisimilitude. If you by some chance actually like this book then I would recommend a Jon Hassler novel to you in addition. Begin with his "Staggerford". It has a similar setting, range of unusual and well-drawn characters, and even shares at least one key plot element. It would be worth your while to determine why his book has an enduring depth that Landvik's clueless novel lacks (and it's not just that as a college English professor, he possesses a sounder grasp of the language).
Rating:
Summary: Amiable Cluelessness
Review: This book contains a set of amiably quirky characters from upstate Minnesota and Hollywood. The author's insider knowledge gives the moviemaking scenes (a considerable portion of the book) a degree of verisimilitude. If you by some chance actually like this book then I would recommend a Jon Hassler novel to you in addition. Begin with his "Staggerford". It has a similar setting, range of unusual and well-drawn characters, and even shares at least one key plot element. It would be worth your while to determine why his book has an enduring depth that Landvik's clueless novel lacks (and it's not just that as a college English professor, he possesses a sounder grasp of the language).
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time
Review: This is a bittersweet novel. It involves everything from love to sorrow. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good laugh and a good cry.
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