I have a strong familial connection to Minnesota and was born there, but didn't really grow up there. But I think this book gives a real flavor of Minnesota life and a typical middle-middle-class kind of existence, and the accompanying sort of dry snarkiness. Even a line like "he drops a toxic load of laundry at the Wash & Gogh..." says a lot and has an ironic wit.
There's a real sense of the middle-class narcissism and self-regard of some characters, but it's not cruel or overly sardonic.
I'm not really familiar with people in Minnesota having a Finnish background--that must exist, but it's not something I particularly know about, but it's another layer of the Scandinavian / Minnesota experience brought out here.
I'll probably want to read all three books in the planned trilogy, of which this is book 2.
There's a real sense of the middle-class narcissism and self-regard of some characters, but it's not cruel or overly sardonic.
I'm not really familiar with people in Minnesota having a Finnish background--that must exist, but it's not something I particularly know about, but it's another layer of the Scandinavian / Minnesota experience brought out here.
I'll probably want to read all three books in the planned trilogy, of which this is book 2.