Great quick read.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lorna Landvik’s Chronical of a Radical Hag (with recipes). It is a quick, light read with delightful characters. It made me laugh out loud, and a few passages brought tears to my eyes.
Haze, an 80+ year columnist at a local newspaper, suffers a stroke and rather than replace her the paper decided to publish previous columns along with the responses the newspaper received from those columns. With 50 years worth of material and an enviable filing system, we relive the ups and downs of Haze’s life, as well as the major and minor events in the nation’s history. Haze’s voice is clear, comical and contemplative, and it was fun to experience her perception of events as they occurred. I loved the rebuttals and discovering the stories of the characters who wrote them. The suggestion that Haze include recipes to temper her message was both funny and poignant, but their inclusion didn’t seem to further the storyline.
One of my favorite characters was Sam, the publisher’s adolescent son who was assigned to read Haze’s columns and recommend which to publish. I like how his character evolved and was thrilled that Haze’s letters made their way to his English curriculum and shaped his classmates’ perceptions.
I give this book a 4.5 star rating, however, I don’t think it will be enjoyed by readers looking for an escape from the current political climate.
Thank you to Bookish First for an ARC of Chronicles of a Radical Hag in exchange for an honest review.
Haze, an 80+ year columnist at a local newspaper, suffers a stroke and rather than replace her the paper decided to publish previous columns along with the responses the newspaper received from those columns. With 50 years worth of material and an enviable filing system, we relive the ups and downs of Haze’s life, as well as the major and minor events in the nation’s history. Haze’s voice is clear, comical and contemplative, and it was fun to experience her perception of events as they occurred. I loved the rebuttals and discovering the stories of the characters who wrote them. The suggestion that Haze include recipes to temper her message was both funny and poignant, but their inclusion didn’t seem to further the storyline.
One of my favorite characters was Sam, the publisher’s adolescent son who was assigned to read Haze’s columns and recommend which to publish. I like how his character evolved and was thrilled that Haze’s letters made their way to his English curriculum and shaped his classmates’ perceptions.
I give this book a 4.5 star rating, however, I don’t think it will be enjoyed by readers looking for an escape from the current political climate.
Thank you to Bookish First for an ARC of Chronicles of a Radical Hag in exchange for an honest review.