An Apricot Year: A Novel

by Martha Egan

Luli Russell never imagines the hurricanes, figurative and real, that will roar through her life when she turns fifty. A traditional Green Bay housewife, she has buried her artistic talent under the demands of family. For her birthday, her husband Herb and their four children give her a trip to Santa Fe on her own, a month of painting lessons, and an enviable set of watercolors. An hysterical call from her teenage daughter turns her dream trip into a nightmare. Minutes later, still in shock, Luli finds a bleeding man lying helpless in a parking lot. Her call for help is answered by Adán Alire, a former medic in Vietnam. He knows how to rescue the old man, and his kindhearted wife Rosealba knows how to rescue Luli. An Apricot Year throws together a quartet of dissimilar people who find their common humanity outweighs their differences as they meet in the shade of a bountiful apricot tree.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 2012

About the author

BIOGRAPHY: Martha Egan

I always intended to get serious about writing fiction at some point, says author Martha Egan. But it took a hideous experience with U.S. Customs to force me into it. The result was a semi-autobiographical novel, Clearing Customs, named Fiction Book of the Year for 2005 by Online Review of Books & Public Affairs. Her next novel, Coyota, won a Bronze Ippy Award for Mountain-West Best Regional Fiction in 2008 from the Independent Publisher Association. Her short story collection, La Ranfla and Other New Mexico Stories will be released September 2009. Martha Egan publishes fiction under her own imprint, Papalote Press: www.papalotepress.com.

She has been an importer and dealer of Latin American folk art since 1974 through her gallery, Pachamama, in Santa Fe. The Museum of New Mexico Press published her non-fiction books, Milagros: Votive Offerings from the Americas (1991) and Relicarios: Devotional Miniatures from the Americas (1994). Since 1991, she has held the honorary position of Research Associate of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. In 2004, she was the first recipient of the Van Deren Coke Award from the Friends of Latin American Folk Art.

She holds a BA in Latin American History from the University of the Americas in Mexico City and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela in the late 60s.

Egan volunteers with the Corrales Residents for Clean Air and Water, the International Folk Art Market, and hangs out with 43 nieces and nephews. She grew up in northeastern Wisconsin and is a rabid Packer fan.

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Reviews

[Jessica Robinett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is poorly written with unconvincing, underdeveloped characters & abrupt, forced plot points.

It had the potential to be so much better, but it falls short, primarily in character development with the cheesy dialogue, rapidly (unbelievably) developing relationships, & way too many plot lines.

Just to give you an idea of the absurdity of this novel, here are a few of the plot points:

Infidelity

Divorce

Death of side characters

Career changes

FBI investigations (that end abruptly)

Category 5 hurricane

Cancer diagnosis

And someone gets hit by freight train…

[Nancy Malone Williquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon turning 50, Green Bay mom Luli emerges from an abusive marriage to pursue her passion for watercolor painting in the New Mexico art community of Santa Fe. Author Martha Eagan paints with words the Santa Fe landscapes and blossoming relationships.

Cover art is divine.

[Trula Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a testament to us mature women that have been abused, then abandoned in the prime of our lives. That would be any time after fifty years of age. In Martha Egan's book, AN APRICOT YEAR, the main character is all the above. Luli Russell was married to an abusive drunk who mentally and physically abused not only her, but her children also. In those days women were taught to sacrifice for the sake of saving face, and family. And sacrifice Luli Russell did, until her husband ran off with a young floosie, Darleen Renard, their babysitter from days gone by. Bad enough, but this bomb was dropped on Luli while she was on a trip to Santa Fe to finally submerge herself in her life long dream of pursuing her artistic abilities. A birthday gift from her husband and kids as recognition for all the years she had sacrificed for them. To add insult to injury, she discovered that Herb, the soon to be Ex, had squandered all their savings and assets throughout their married years leaving his family destitute.
Her family pulled together through it all. Luli came unto her own in Santa Fe. She learned that life wasn't over, it was just beginning with good friends that became like family to her through shared hardships. And she learned that to pursue her dream of being an artist could blossom into being a successful artist. Above all she learned what real love is, and that it could be found in the strangest places. The year of the apricot is rare, so you have to make the most of it when it is here. As did Luli Russell. I really enjoyed this book. Good read.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author does a great job of being descriptive, she really paints a picture of what you are reading (no pun intended). I was disappointed with the climaxes of this book. There were several parts of this book that could have been made much more intense and page turning, but instead, I felt it was really played down.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple story but I enjoyed the setting of Santa Fe