Dave Vizard's Blog - Posts Tagged "fiction-michigan"
New book unfairly paints the Thumb as haven for losers, misfits, drunks
I just finished "Enough to Lose" by R.S. Deeran and have to say it's disappointing.
Published by WSU press, the book is hailed as an intimate portrait of the Thumb and the people who live here – their struggles and trials in a remote isolated area.
This is a series of short stories about people gettijng drunk, going to jail, getting out of jail, surviving the Flood of '86, getting drunk, deer hunting to put meat on the table, surviving the recession by cutting lawns of bankrupt homes, and did I mention getting drunk and lying to each other.
I'm not suggesting this behavior doesn't occur. It does!
But folks who live like this are not exclusive to the Thumb. They can be found in almost every community. All you have to do is bottom feed. Scrape the bottom of the barrel anywhere and you are bound to come up with crud.
This novel, which is well written and features many colorful charachters, paints the Thumb with a broad brush and it's a faulty picture. I've lived in the Thumb most of my life and there are plenty of hard-working, generous, kind, successful people here.
Unfortunately, their productive lives are ommited from these short stories, and that is unfair.
What makes this work even more disappointing is that it received a Michigan Notable Book award. Sure, it's a gritty story and I can see the snob judges thinking, wow, this is real, telling it like it is.
Unfortunately, the story does not tell it like it is. It's a sour and cynical look at life in the Thumb. Don't waste your time on it. Enough to Lose
R.S. Deeren
Published by WSU press, the book is hailed as an intimate portrait of the Thumb and the people who live here – their struggles and trials in a remote isolated area.
This is a series of short stories about people gettijng drunk, going to jail, getting out of jail, surviving the Flood of '86, getting drunk, deer hunting to put meat on the table, surviving the recession by cutting lawns of bankrupt homes, and did I mention getting drunk and lying to each other.
I'm not suggesting this behavior doesn't occur. It does!
But folks who live like this are not exclusive to the Thumb. They can be found in almost every community. All you have to do is bottom feed. Scrape the bottom of the barrel anywhere and you are bound to come up with crud.
This novel, which is well written and features many colorful charachters, paints the Thumb with a broad brush and it's a faulty picture. I've lived in the Thumb most of my life and there are plenty of hard-working, generous, kind, successful people here.
Unfortunately, their productive lives are ommited from these short stories, and that is unfair.
What makes this work even more disappointing is that it received a Michigan Notable Book award. Sure, it's a gritty story and I can see the snob judges thinking, wow, this is real, telling it like it is.
Unfortunately, the story does not tell it like it is. It's a sour and cynical look at life in the Thumb. Don't waste your time on it. Enough to Lose
R.S. Deeren
Review of "Mackinac Murder" makes my day
Mackinac Murder by Dave Vizard
- a review by Tom Powers, Michigan in Books
Dave Vizard’s series of mystery novels featuring reporter Nicke Steele of the Bay City Blade has put Bay City, Michigan on the literary map. The novel, as well as the entire Nicke Steele series, showcases Vizard’s ability to realistically portray a veteran journalist working a story combined with a riveting and unusual mystery.
When Eric Stapleton, a Bay City man, is killed in a freak horse-riding accident on Mackinac Island it marks the second time in three months he made it into his hometown paper. Three months earlier his 16-year-old daughter threw an overnight, alcohol fueled party for her girlfriends. Stapleton supposedly monitored the party and had a lot to answer for when Sherry Conway, one of the party goers, disappeared that night and has never been found. Furthermore, Stapleton’s job is monitoring Line 5, a highly controversial oil pipeline running under the Straits of Mackinac. Nick Steele is sent to cover the story on Mackinac Island while his fellow reporter and friend Dave Balz will see if he can find a connection to the disappearance of Sherry Conway.
Steele quickly discovers the island police report on Stapleton’s death is at odds with the evidence. Steele concludes it wasn’t an accident but murder and wonders if his job somehow figured in his death. The two reporters relentlessly dig into Stapleton’s past, his job, friends, and the few clues on Mackinac Island nor can they unearth any new leads on Conway’s disappearance. Eventually their hard work and dogged pursuit of a story pays off when a slim lead results in one startling revelation after another. The main plot line will keep you reading late into the night. But the subplots, minor characters, and the personal problems facing the two reporters are equally involving and mirror the life and death story they are trying to unravel.
Dave Vizard, a retired award-winning journalist, is a natural-born storyteller. So, before cracking the cover find a comfortable chair. You’re going to be there for a while.
- a review by Tom Powers, Michigan in Books
Dave Vizard’s series of mystery novels featuring reporter Nicke Steele of the Bay City Blade has put Bay City, Michigan on the literary map. The novel, as well as the entire Nicke Steele series, showcases Vizard’s ability to realistically portray a veteran journalist working a story combined with a riveting and unusual mystery.
When Eric Stapleton, a Bay City man, is killed in a freak horse-riding accident on Mackinac Island it marks the second time in three months he made it into his hometown paper. Three months earlier his 16-year-old daughter threw an overnight, alcohol fueled party for her girlfriends. Stapleton supposedly monitored the party and had a lot to answer for when Sherry Conway, one of the party goers, disappeared that night and has never been found. Furthermore, Stapleton’s job is monitoring Line 5, a highly controversial oil pipeline running under the Straits of Mackinac. Nick Steele is sent to cover the story on Mackinac Island while his fellow reporter and friend Dave Balz will see if he can find a connection to the disappearance of Sherry Conway.
Steele quickly discovers the island police report on Stapleton’s death is at odds with the evidence. Steele concludes it wasn’t an accident but murder and wonders if his job somehow figured in his death. The two reporters relentlessly dig into Stapleton’s past, his job, friends, and the few clues on Mackinac Island nor can they unearth any new leads on Conway’s disappearance. Eventually their hard work and dogged pursuit of a story pays off when a slim lead results in one startling revelation after another. The main plot line will keep you reading late into the night. But the subplots, minor characters, and the personal problems facing the two reporters are equally involving and mirror the life and death story they are trying to unravel.
Dave Vizard, a retired award-winning journalist, is a natural-born storyteller. So, before cracking the cover find a comfortable chair. You’re going to be there for a while.
