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Trutor & The Balloonist
Trutor and the Balloonist has it all: mystery, Victorian riddles, contemporary issues, art mirroring a most unusual life, eccentric and lovable characters, suspected and surprise villains, domestic strife, and conflicted romance. Michelle Trutor accepts the task of compiling the biography of deceased Caroline Wharton, sifting through shocking materials forbidden to the Balloonist and his family in the will, and guarded by an overly zealous attorney. Readers are invited into the sleuthing as Caroline's riddles are revealed--as if she planned the visits with Michelle's all along.
- GenresFiction
259 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1997
70 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Lee Wesselmann
4 books3 followersFrom http://www.trutor.net/About_the_Autho...
"Debbie Lee Wesselmann is the author of two novels, Trutor & the Balloonist and Captivity, as well as a collection of short fiction, The Earth and the Sky. Her short stories have appeared in journals such as Other Voices, The Literary Review, Orchid: A Literary Review, Florida Review, and many others.
Ms. Wesselmann received her A.B. from Dartmouth College and her M.F.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has taught writing at both Lehigh University and Fairleigh Dickinson University."
"Debbie Lee Wesselmann is the author of two novels, Trutor & the Balloonist and Captivity, as well as a collection of short fiction, The Earth and the Sky. Her short stories have appeared in journals such as Other Voices, The Literary Review, Orchid: A Literary Review, Florida Review, and many others.
Ms. Wesselmann received her A.B. from Dartmouth College and her M.F.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has taught writing at both Lehigh University and Fairleigh Dickinson University."
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 15, 2014
Trutor and the Balloonist* -- because Michelle and the Quirky Old Dude just doesn't have the same ring to it.
*There are no balloonists, ballooning, or balloons in this book.
There is also nothing Victorian, so I have no clue why that word is in the synopsis.
*There are no balloonists, ballooning, or balloons in this book.
There is also nothing Victorian, so I have no clue why that word is in the synopsis.
February 7, 2008
Outstanding Debut Novel
I stumbled upon this title and after savoring the final chapters, not wanting it to end, I feel incredibly lucky. This novel has everything I crave: Plot, mystery, well-drawn, eccentric characters, RIDDLES, history, art, lyrical and descriptive prose. I was transported to New England while following the unfolding story of Caroline Wharton as discovered by the somewhat reluctant biographer, Michelle Trutor.
Through her main character, Debbie Lee Wesselmann paints Trutor's subject as an "intellectual enigma" and the owner of souls. As she unravels the "sticky web" left behind by Caroline, a woman who committed suicide and virtually imprisoned her family (the "Balloonist," Arthur, and his twin brother, Proctor, and their niece, Roberta) in a former mortuary, she offers riddles that one can't help but try to solve before reading further. The clever riddles pull you through this fascinating story of complicated relationships.
Because of a convoluted will and a watchful attorney, Trutor was the only one who had access to the clues Caroline had left behind, which included her personal journals. I particularly enjoyed the journal entries, which intimately portray the creative and multifarious soul that was Caroline Wharton. My favorite entry: "I spent hours reading today here in the Botanical Gardens before I felt the need to write myself: the small leap from someone else's words to my own like a garden shading from lavender to deep purple."
Deep purple indeed. This novel deserves the royal treatment and my highest recommendation.
I stumbled upon this title and after savoring the final chapters, not wanting it to end, I feel incredibly lucky. This novel has everything I crave: Plot, mystery, well-drawn, eccentric characters, RIDDLES, history, art, lyrical and descriptive prose. I was transported to New England while following the unfolding story of Caroline Wharton as discovered by the somewhat reluctant biographer, Michelle Trutor.
Through her main character, Debbie Lee Wesselmann paints Trutor's subject as an "intellectual enigma" and the owner of souls. As she unravels the "sticky web" left behind by Caroline, a woman who committed suicide and virtually imprisoned her family (the "Balloonist," Arthur, and his twin brother, Proctor, and their niece, Roberta) in a former mortuary, she offers riddles that one can't help but try to solve before reading further. The clever riddles pull you through this fascinating story of complicated relationships.
Because of a convoluted will and a watchful attorney, Trutor was the only one who had access to the clues Caroline had left behind, which included her personal journals. I particularly enjoyed the journal entries, which intimately portray the creative and multifarious soul that was Caroline Wharton. My favorite entry: "I spent hours reading today here in the Botanical Gardens before I felt the need to write myself: the small leap from someone else's words to my own like a garden shading from lavender to deep purple."
Deep purple indeed. This novel deserves the royal treatment and my highest recommendation.
November 6, 2010
I liked the riddles and The Balloonist but I felt lost at times. The characters were hard to feel anything for except for The Ballonist and the story seemed to lag. There was always a forward motion with it but I felt the ending was sort of thrown together quickly rather than wrapped up into a nice little package ending.
January 14, 2009
This is the most amazing under read novel I have ever had the pleasure to find. Part scavenger hunt, part riddle, part mystery, part meditation on art, and part family story- it had me hooked right from the start. Cannot recommend it more highly.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews