Carson Valley: A Novel by Bill Barich

by Bill Barich

Carson Valley, the place, lies in Sonoma County, 80 miles north of San Francisco. It is an agricultural center, a prime spot for growing wine grapes, though its character has been changing as the nearby city of Santa Rosa extends its suburbs deeper into the valley. Carson Valley, the novel, is the first such offering by accomplished short-story writer and essayist Bill Barich. It details the changing fortunes of vineyard owner Victor Torelli, his family, and the people who labor in his fields. The novel begins with Victor's daughter, Anna, returning to the valley after a failed marriage to care for her ailing mother. Despite her resolve not to become involved in any further romantic entanglements, Anna is drawn to the vineyard's manager, Arthur, a man with a checkered past, a propensity to drink at the first sign of trouble, and the unlikely capacity to love completely and without reservation. First and foremost, Carson Valley is a love story--the love between a man and a woman, between father and daughter, between friends, and also love for the land. Barich, who once lived in vineyard country, brings the valley to life and peoples it with fully realized, deeply sympathetic characters who lodge in the reader's memory long after the book is read.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published March 11, 1997

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

When it comes to describing the Sonoma wine country--the seasons, the wine industry, the connection between the people and the land, the birds, plants, etc.--this author does a good job.

But the characters are not fully developed, drawing from stereotypes, I felt. Also, the plot is sooooooooo predictable.

[Everett Egginton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful captivating novel. A joy to read. Hard to put down. Captures the tangled emotions of love in a touching and believable way. Moreover, his attention to detail is extraordinary, especially, but not exclusively, in his descriptions of the intricate and delicate procedures of growing wine grapes.

[Kathleen Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was staying at an old 1930's lodge at Lake Tahoe in August 2015, I found this book on the dusty old bookcase and picked it up to read. Perfect! Someone else wrote the review below, so I borrowed their notes on it. It sums it up well.

"A richly drawn novel of love, loss and redemption by the author of Big Dreams. Since 1893, the Torelli clan has owned 100 vineyard acres in Carson Valley, California, but the traditions tying them to the land are now in flux. Returning to her family home, Anna Torelli is filled with an emotional awakening as she embarks upon an affair of the heart."

[Caitlin Mercado · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this out of impulse. Unfortunately, I put off reading it for quite sometime because that was just how immature of a reader I was back then. But when I did find it in my book collection again, I read it. It was a well-written novel, with all the back stories and emotions well strung together to form such a story. I loved the ending, however, Barich would have done a better job by ending it with a more detailed ending.

[Katharine Ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Carson Valley" - written by Bill Barich and published in 1997 by Pantheon. A pleasant wine country romance.