The Egg Lady and Other Neighbors (Headwaters Series)

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book of short stories
Review: "The Egg Lady & Other Neighbors" is an outstanding book of short stories capturing life in the contemporary rural Midwest. Much in the way Willa Cather does in "My Antonia," "The Egg Lady" provides living, breathing portraits of compelling characters dealing with the sometimes unforgiving social norms often prevalent in rural societies.

However, this book is more than just a archetypal portrait of life in rural Iowa. The stories draw you in through the subtle and often amusing quirks of the characters -- The Egg Lady who exacts revenge in a creative (and somewhat disturbing) way on her unfaithful neighbor, the priest who outfoxes the Bishop one last time, the prodigal cousin returned home from the glare of fame and fortune. Real people aren't just stereotypes -- they have quirks and imperfections that make them inherently interesting. It is the individuality that Currans-Sheehan imbues in her charachters that makes this an especially rewarding read.

Rating:
Summary: Rachel
Review: Currans-Sheehan's presentation is simple and lyrical. But it's the honesty of the prose that captures the reader and then reveals a subtext that is always riveting, complex and sometimes shocking. Currans-Sheehan's talent is that her writing delicately weaves together a masterpiece of rural Iowa as she reveals dynamic heroines who struggle and also strive from their close-knit communities, connectedness to the land, and the isolation and loneliness their surroundings bring.