Breakup

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Summary: Stabenow transcends the genre with this serio-comic drama
Review: It is BREAKUP in Alaska when the snow melts and the people emerge from the long dark winter of hibernating in their homes. The natives gleefully visit friends and neighbors, replenish supplies, and take care of tribal business. This year, BREAKUP is even more difficult than usual for homesteader Kate Shugak. She has to deal with hungry bears, a plane engine landing on her roof, and mediating the various feuds that sometimes escalate into violence. Worse than all that combined is that her hormones are aching and she desperately wants to visit her lover in Anchorage. ...... No matter how hard Kate distances herself from tribal politics, no one allows her to forget that she is heir to her grandfather's legacy. The gift (or curse depending on one's perspective) of being the recognized clan leader is one that Kate would prefer to reject. However, she is unable to desert her people by abrogating her responsibility especially when her presence helps her fellow villagers. For instance, Kate decides how to invest tribal funds in a clinic and determines if a bear attack was actually a premeditated murder. Whatever the tribal requirement might be, Kate, guided by her deceased grandmother's spirit, tends to her people's need. ........ The female protagonist is clearly the star of BREAKUP, a work that has plenty of action, but is more of a character study than a typical murder mystery. The magic and the power of the Alaskan environment are brought vividly alive through the powerful word processor of Dana Stabenow. She successfully allows readers a glimpse into the psychological and sociological mindset of the native Alaskan resident, whom living in a harsh climate has different social survival mechanism than those found in the lower 48. The force of this novel transcends genre as the protagonist rejects the power that her community increasingly bestows upon her. For readers interested in the last American frontier, this book is a necessity. .....Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A Kate Shugak novel with humor
Review: It seems that Dana Stabenow touches on a different aspect of Alaskan life in each book of this wonderful series. In Breakup, we are entertained with descriptions of springtime, when the ice and snow are breaking up and all sorts of weird things happen. Kate seems philosophical through it all--from airplanes falling from nowhere to grizzlies appearing in her path. She attributes every situation to the time of year. This book has all the attributes of the previous novels in this series--great descriptions of the scenery and lifestyle of Alaska,and an intriguing murder, but it also includes side-splitting humor. I recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: A Kate Shugak novel with humor
Review: It seems that Dana Stabenow touches on a different aspect of Alaskan life in each book of this wonderful series. In Breakup, we are entertained with descriptions of springtime, when the ice and snow are breaking up and all sorts of weird things happen. Kate seems philosophical through it all--from airplanes falling from nowhere to grizzlies appearing in her path. She attributes every situation to the time of year. This book has all the attributes of the previous novels in this series--great descriptions of the scenery and lifestyle of Alaska,and an intriguing murder, but it also includes side-splitting humor. I recommend it!

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Summary: spring fever, alaska style
Review: Kate Shugak is back, cleaning up the homestead and getting ready for salmon season. At least, she would be if the jet engine hadn't fallen on her truck, the bears weren't so cantakerous, her neighbors weren't shooting at each other, and oh yeah, there are some dead bodies that just don't add up. Kate's methods may be unorthodox but she gets the job done in this hilariously low key story of early spring in Alaska's back country. The plane crash description, and Kate's mellow, just-fast-enough reaction to every incident reminded me of Smylla's attempt to use a dumb waiter as a burglar's entry device in "Smylla's Sense of Snow." What fun. Too bad there has to be a philandering creep in this book, but at least Kate's got characters she can work against. I miss Emaa, and there were a few times I thought Kate was close to joining her grandmother. Overall an entertaining look at Alaska's environmental quandary

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Summary: a sure cure for a bad day!
Review: Kate Shugak, whose life is NEVER out of her control, and who, in previous books, was becoming something of a superwoman, finally has a day we can all relate to--starting with the jet engine falling on her homestead, the bear attacks, and much to her disgust, far too many people asking her to find out something, or worse yet, annoying her by materializing at the homestead. Her problems with a borrowed truck are myriad--and make the worst day in commuter traffic a breeze by comparison! This is the book to read when you've had a terrible day--you will smile by the end of it!!

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Summary: A little silly
Review: Maybe I'm just not a person who is capable of being a mystery fan, but this book seemed silly to me. I am perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief in most instances, but after the first few chapters, in which there were a couple of bear attacks and a falling jet engine (!) all in the space of one day, I had had it. The writing was fine, and the scenery was really neat, but I certainly didn't see the humor in much of the book that some other readers did. I also couldn't tell why it was even called a mystery until about 120 pages into it, which was frustrating. Perhaps it's best not to make this your first Kate Shugach mystery, because others certainly liked it more than I did.

Rating:
Summary: A little silly
Review: Maybe I'm just not a person who is capable of being a mystery fan, but this book seemed silly to me. I am perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief in most instances, but after the first few chapters, in which there were a couple of bear attacks and a falling jet engine (!) all in the space of one day, I had had it. The writing was fine, and the scenery was really neat, but I certainly didn't see the humor in much of the book that some other readers did. I also couldn't tell why it was even called a mystery until about 120 pages into it, which was frustrating. Perhaps it's best not to make this your first Kate Shugach mystery, because others certainly liked it more than I did.

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Summary: Unconvincing daydream
Review: This book reads like someone's fantasy life. The protagonist, Kate Shugak, never makes mistakes, never loses an argument, and never has to compromise. She can terrify men with a glance and stop armed combat with her bare hands. She can also seduce a cold-blooded murderer and hypnotize a room full of men with a change in her voice. She claims to love men, but doesn't "expect much of them." The only man she maybe-loves, from many miles away, warms her heart by his casual reply to the report of a bear mauling someone to death, but she ridicules such bravado ("manly-man" behavior) in anyone else. She professes an abiding commitment to her oath to uphold the law, but commits a petty crime, and for petty reasons, minutes later. She rescues an irresponsible husband (for the second time), when he is bound naked, spread-eagled, and gagged, from the rifle of his hysterical wife, but "sides with the tribe" when she tells a state trooper that their children are not in danger.

The book goes on and on this way, asking the reader to believe that a five-foot-tall woman is actually some kind of superbeing, able to cope with any kind of problem, no matter how absurd or wrong-headed her methods might be. If she were real, her mother would be Wonder Woman, and her other mother would be Marilyn. (If it were up to her, I don't think Kate Shugak would _have_ a father.) She can kick ass or make doe eyes, whichever the moment requires, and always with 100% success. Like Alda's "Hawkeye" character, everything always just seems to work out her way. She never has to deal with mistakes or meaningful opposition to her wishes.

This was a really well-written book about a dreadful person living a charmed life. I can easily imagine the audience that makes it such a success. But, I found it so far below credible and so self-indulgent, that I'd give it one star if it weren't for a few snappy scenes that prove Stabenow could be a good writer if she'd only grow up.

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Summary: One star for each time I bought a copy of this book
Review: This is the first book of Dana Stabenow's that I bought. Within minutes, I giggled. A few more pages, I laughed. Before the book was finished, I had to stop and wipe the tears from laughing so hard.

I could relate to Kate's experiences. Maybe it takes living through an Alaskan break up to understand what humans and fate are really capable of that made this so funny. Perhaps it was recognizing former headlines from the newspapers. Irregardless, it was the first Kate Shugak book I read, but not my last. I immediately went out and bought the rest and I have a copy of each new one, too.

It's not your typical mystery. The murder does appear secondary to other activities: falling 747 engines, grizzly bear encounters, parents from Outside visiting daughters. If you want a slice of authenic Alaska from a real Alaskan, you can't go wrong with Ms. Stabenow. If you want pure entertainment, you can't go wrong with BREAK UP.

Why have I bought five copies of this book? Because each time I loaned it out, I never received it back. It's one of those books that I read again and again. But please don't ask to borrow my copy. I know a lovely bookstore that will sell you your own copy.

Rating:
Summary: Guaranteed to make you laugh
Review: With the combination of humor, suspense and mystery, Dana Stabenow has once again produced a winning story. I particularly liked the reference to Jamie Fraser (from the series by Diana Gabaldon). The only thing I didn't like about this book was the "art work" (?) on the chapter pages. I was wondering how I had managed to mess up the first page without even opening the book when I realized it was a continuing theme on all the chapter pages.