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Lyric River
Ben Wallace moves to a small Colorado mountain town with Sarah, his young daughter. Ben is a skeptic, but he doesn't mind renting his attic room to someone claiming to be God, especially since this God is troubled by his own grave doubts. Ben does not even mind that God mooches beer and is indifferent about paying the rent. Ben is less concerned with God's aggravating ways than he is with figuring out how it might be okay to leave one woman he loves for another woman he loves. Ben's marriage to Karen, volatile, ambitious child of the city, is fraying, and the unraveling quickens when he meets Megan, serene child of the mountains, child of a crazy, murdered father. Ben navigates the turbulent end of his relationship with Karen, falling in love with Megan, and rearing Sarah. Megan's brother violently opposes the relationship between Ben and Megan, for reasons buried in their childhood. Ben and Megan are forced to journey into the abandoned mine that contains these childhood secrets, igniting a dangerous confrontation.
Typical small-town characters include George, contrarian newspaper editor, who spends his evenings in the Moose Jaw, drinking beer and arguing, if necessary, against his own editorials. Billy, the largest man in the county, dropped out of high school to drive a snowplow, and wanders the mountains, looking for the footprints of Thoreau and the secrets of Megan's childhood. Iris, Ben's rich, imperious neighbor, descendent of ranchers, loves Ben and Sarah and Megan; Iris also loves to hit anyone who vexes her over the head with a beer bottle; Iris is sorely vexed by Megan's brother, Tyler, who follows dangerously in their father's religiously demented footsteps.
Typical small-town characters include George, contrarian newspaper editor, who spends his evenings in the Moose Jaw, drinking beer and arguing, if necessary, against his own editorials. Billy, the largest man in the county, dropped out of high school to drive a snowplow, and wanders the mountains, looking for the footprints of Thoreau and the secrets of Megan's childhood. Iris, Ben's rich, imperious neighbor, descendent of ranchers, loves Ben and Sarah and Megan; Iris also loves to hit anyone who vexes her over the head with a beer bottle; Iris is sorely vexed by Megan's brother, Tyler, who follows dangerously in their father's religiously demented footsteps.
345 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2012
19 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Mac Griffith
8 books43 followersMac lives in a small mountain town in Colorado. He likes skiing, fly fishing, running trails, and reading, but not quite to the exclusion of all other forms of human activity.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 18, 2019
My main question is why I had never heard of this book before. It is rich with wisdom and wonder; sadness and joy; darkness and light. I almost underlined the whole book...most especially the conversations Ben has with his border Hank a/k/a God. I read it on my Kindle app, but I have ordered a hand-held paper copy...I will feel better just having it pysically in my home.
June 15, 2019
Beautifully written, well characterized novel set in an authentically drawn mountain town about 1.5 hours upriver from the one I live in. Worth it just for that, IMO!
Sentimental/mushy in places. Could have explored Ben's childhood dynamics with more insight--what accounts for his drifting through meadows instead of securing divorce/custody with that batshit, powerful ex-wife out there, not to mention feeling any worry about the crazy brother of his girlfriend stalking them?
Usually it's only those with overwhelming childhood trauma or absolutely NO trauma and secure attachment who are so lacking in anxiety and vigilance. Yet that's not explored. Instead we see his need to be like his strange, stoic, loser of a father. Why does he want to be like this man? No idea. It seems men either want to mirror or rival their fathers. We're supposed to accept this as a given, I guess.
In my America, we walk away from uncomfortable childhood circumstances. Usually this means they come up again in our marriages. So we deal with it then. In this novel, the characters do not walk away, but they don't really deal, either. Megan, oddly, goes back to the town of her terror, but still will not deal. She is a librarian. The library is full of tell-all memoirs, one presumes. She must know that these topics are no longer taboo.
So... I'm left feeling that we're being forced into a bunch of constraints that are no longer constraints in today's America for the sake of a plot. I wonder if Griffith might have found a different plot that would have worked better for these characters and this place.
I'm not doing the star thing because this book is well worth the read and I don't want to bring down the average given the small number of reviews. 3.5 I think, but I'm tough. Strong first novel.
I enjoyed the God character. That might have really backfired, but was well handled. I plan to get hold of Griffith's story collection. I hope there's a new novel soon... serious talent.
Sentimental/mushy in places. Could have explored Ben's childhood dynamics with more insight--what accounts for his drifting through meadows instead of securing divorce/custody with that batshit, powerful ex-wife out there, not to mention feeling any worry about the crazy brother of his girlfriend stalking them?
Usually it's only those with overwhelming childhood trauma or absolutely NO trauma and secure attachment who are so lacking in anxiety and vigilance. Yet that's not explored. Instead we see his need to be like his strange, stoic, loser of a father. Why does he want to be like this man? No idea. It seems men either want to mirror or rival their fathers. We're supposed to accept this as a given, I guess.
In my America, we walk away from uncomfortable childhood circumstances. Usually this means they come up again in our marriages. So we deal with it then. In this novel, the characters do not walk away, but they don't really deal, either. Megan, oddly, goes back to the town of her terror, but still will not deal. She is a librarian. The library is full of tell-all memoirs, one presumes. She must know that these topics are no longer taboo.
So... I'm left feeling that we're being forced into a bunch of constraints that are no longer constraints in today's America for the sake of a plot. I wonder if Griffith might have found a different plot that would have worked better for these characters and this place.
I'm not doing the star thing because this book is well worth the read and I don't want to bring down the average given the small number of reviews. 3.5 I think, but I'm tough. Strong first novel.
I enjoyed the God character. That might have really backfired, but was well handled. I plan to get hold of Griffith's story collection. I hope there's a new novel soon... serious talent.
December 29, 2016
Nice
Surprising read. Bold choices a, risky choices from author. This book could have been a nice little read if not for that risk. It turned into a good book. One I would have lost track of loaning it out if it wasn't an EBook. I'm sorry I can't loan it. I come from readers and this book would make the vast circuit. Only problem I had was getting any feeling towards Ben's mother. Hard to feel someone so flesh less. I will look for Griffith went looking for a new book. Again, good read. Thanks. I read ten bad books to get one. It wasn't To Kill a Mocking Bird, but even H. Lee couldn't pull it off twice.
Surprising read. Bold choices a, risky choices from author. This book could have been a nice little read if not for that risk. It turned into a good book. One I would have lost track of loaning it out if it wasn't an EBook. I'm sorry I can't loan it. I come from readers and this book would make the vast circuit. Only problem I had was getting any feeling towards Ben's mother. Hard to feel someone so flesh less. I will look for Griffith went looking for a new book. Again, good read. Thanks. I read ten bad books to get one. It wasn't To Kill a Mocking Bird, but even H. Lee couldn't pull it off twice.
April 23, 2018
Griffith is a good writer. He sets the story out in simple prose and makes the reader feel a part of life in a small Colorado ski town. He paints an accurate picture of the area (it's obvious he either lives there, or has spent a lot of time there..), and pays attention to detail.
The story gets bogged down at times during his descriptions of interactions between the main characters (Ben & Megan , or Ben & Sarah). He is very good at describing inner feelings, and at presenting those interactions... it sometimes seems there are too many of them, though. I'm sure there are other readers who would love this, though, so I'm only offering up a gut feeling on my own part. It's not a deal-breaker, and I still enjoyed the book a lot. Like I said, he's a good writer.
The story will speak to some of those who have suffered divorce, or have tried to raise a child on their own, or who have gone through the problems of a dysfunctional family while growing up. Without giving things away, there are lots of those in the plot, and all of them serve the story.
The characters are well developed, though some might be just a bit on the cliche side. Still, I liked them all. The 'God' character was an interesting choice, and served as a vehicle by which to dish up some of Griffith's philosophy. Good choice, that. I liked the character, and thought he fit in well.
Hadn't read any of Griffith's offerings, but will probably pick up more of his work. Glad I read this book. It could have moved along a bit faster, but I tend to savour my reading anyway, so that didn't bother me. If you're looking for an action adventure book, this isn't it. If you're looking for a love story, you've come to the right place.
The story gets bogged down at times during his descriptions of interactions between the main characters (Ben & Megan , or Ben & Sarah). He is very good at describing inner feelings, and at presenting those interactions... it sometimes seems there are too many of them, though. I'm sure there are other readers who would love this, though, so I'm only offering up a gut feeling on my own part. It's not a deal-breaker, and I still enjoyed the book a lot. Like I said, he's a good writer.
The story will speak to some of those who have suffered divorce, or have tried to raise a child on their own, or who have gone through the problems of a dysfunctional family while growing up. Without giving things away, there are lots of those in the plot, and all of them serve the story.
The characters are well developed, though some might be just a bit on the cliche side. Still, I liked them all. The 'God' character was an interesting choice, and served as a vehicle by which to dish up some of Griffith's philosophy. Good choice, that. I liked the character, and thought he fit in well.
Hadn't read any of Griffith's offerings, but will probably pick up more of his work. Glad I read this book. It could have moved along a bit faster, but I tend to savour my reading anyway, so that didn't bother me. If you're looking for an action adventure book, this isn't it. If you're looking for a love story, you've come to the right place.
June 4, 2017
It is always risky when you chose to delve into a new novelist. You hope you will discover a new favourite writer, but worry that you will find them lacking. However, when I came across the novel Lyric River, I knew by the title alone that I was on safe ground.
Mac Griffith has a rather quirky narrative style that at first blush seems simplistic. But he finds and defines a distinct voice in it that he is able to own. As a reader, you settle into it and find it both engrossing and endearing.
Lyric River tells the story of history teacher Ben who separates from the wife he cannot stop loving but with whom he also cannot live. He takes up residence with his daughter Sarah in a mountain town that suits his take-life-as-it-comes temperament.
Ben finds a new circle of friends, who take him under their wings, and a new love in Meagan who reanimates and delights him. Ben gets a new lease on life helped in part by his philosophical discussions with his upstairs boarder – who claims to be God but looks like Willie Nelson and has more questions than answers.
But there is a dark secret that haunts this mountain town. Ben is the catalyst that brings resolution to this secret, but at a price which his new friends cannot protect him from as hard as they try to do so. The Blue River that flows through the town winds itself around and into the lives of all the characters and underscores that life carries on through both joy and sorrow.
Mac Griffith has a rather quirky narrative style that at first blush seems simplistic. But he finds and defines a distinct voice in it that he is able to own. As a reader, you settle into it and find it both engrossing and endearing.
Lyric River tells the story of history teacher Ben who separates from the wife he cannot stop loving but with whom he also cannot live. He takes up residence with his daughter Sarah in a mountain town that suits his take-life-as-it-comes temperament.
Ben finds a new circle of friends, who take him under their wings, and a new love in Meagan who reanimates and delights him. Ben gets a new lease on life helped in part by his philosophical discussions with his upstairs boarder – who claims to be God but looks like Willie Nelson and has more questions than answers.
But there is a dark secret that haunts this mountain town. Ben is the catalyst that brings resolution to this secret, but at a price which his new friends cannot protect him from as hard as they try to do so. The Blue River that flows through the town winds itself around and into the lives of all the characters and underscores that life carries on through both joy and sorrow.
March 4, 2019
I absolutely love the novels of Mac Griffith! So will you.
I believe that the main residents of this blue mountain Colorado county are heaven sent and heaven bound, even if God didn't live in Ben's attic. This is a wonderful book. It is the love story of Ben and Megan. Their relationship is magnetic, sometimes repelling and attracting each other simultaneously. But wins out is Ben's eternal optimism and Megan' courage to overcome her life of hardship and burdens. Humor is also granted within Mac's generous writing. The family of Ben, Megan, Sarah, Iris, Laurie, George, Hector, Billy and Ollie, Lena and Julie and an anonymous librarian who charged a nickel for a 'damaged copy of To Kill a Mockingbird come together as the most protective and supportive family any town could ever need or want. This book is a real joy to read.
I believe that the main residents of this blue mountain Colorado county are heaven sent and heaven bound, even if God didn't live in Ben's attic. This is a wonderful book. It is the love story of Ben and Megan. Their relationship is magnetic, sometimes repelling and attracting each other simultaneously. But wins out is Ben's eternal optimism and Megan' courage to overcome her life of hardship and burdens. Humor is also granted within Mac's generous writing. The family of Ben, Megan, Sarah, Iris, Laurie, George, Hector, Billy and Ollie, Lena and Julie and an anonymous librarian who charged a nickel for a 'damaged copy of To Kill a Mockingbird come together as the most protective and supportive family any town could ever need or want. This book is a real joy to read.
June 3, 2020
Sad Tale
A light, flitting story for the first three quarters and then tense. mesmerizing right to the bitter end. Don't let yourself get too lackadaisical in the read or your in for a rough ride. Ben and Megan are perfect for a Hallmark movie but they'll never be able to have the storybook ending viewers are used to. Having God living in your upstairs is a unique twist.
A light, flitting story for the first three quarters and then tense. mesmerizing right to the bitter end. Don't let yourself get too lackadaisical in the read or your in for a rough ride. Ben and Megan are perfect for a Hallmark movie but they'll never be able to have the storybook ending viewers are used to. Having God living in your upstairs is a unique twist.
March 2, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has a fine sense of the complications of being human.
June 29, 2013
Lyric River was a well-written character driven novel that I enjoyed. The author has a skill for writing about the beauties of nature that transport the reader directly in the very mountains he writes about. This book started slowly for me, but eventually the humor of his characters, and also their humility and flaws, drew me into the gradually developed plot. The story revolves around our difficulty in finding ways to love and adapt to those who are closest to us in our lives, and also with how we struggle with finding and accepting happiness. my complaints with the book: At times Sarah, the daughter seemed much too wise for her age. Also, the plot development at the very end seemed too rushed and abrupt. Just as I was processing this major change, the book ends with little emotional follow up...which seemed rather inconsistent to the rest of the book given that it is such a character relationship/emotion driven novel. other than those two things,The book was very well put together and I am glad I took the time to read it. Getting to know Ben and his daughter was a lot of joy. Mac Griffith can certainly write a character with heart.
June 19, 2014
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
In all fairness to the author, I wanted to leave a review, although I have not finished this book.
The author is a gifted writer, and like the title, the book is very lyrical. I love the way he puts words together! I can actually "see" the picturesque landscape without ever setting foot there. His characters are well developed, so well described that you would probably recognize them on the street!
I do want to finish this book, but it is slow going, and I have had to read other books in between.
In all fairness to the author, I wanted to leave a review, although I have not finished this book.
The author is a gifted writer, and like the title, the book is very lyrical. I love the way he puts words together! I can actually "see" the picturesque landscape without ever setting foot there. His characters are well developed, so well described that you would probably recognize them on the street!
I do want to finish this book, but it is slow going, and I have had to read other books in between.
April 27, 2013
This book is slow pace. You have to be very patient to read it. It is a very inspiring book. Though the plot could have been a bit more interesting. The book was a tad bit bland, but the characters humor and sense of life in the whole made the book more fun to read. That is why I kept reading it and decided not to put it down. The author kind of dragged the story on. In the end it was a good book, I didn't really regret reading it.
September 7, 2013
If a book has great characters and you really care about what happens to them so much that you don't want the book to end...read this book. I was taken through every emotion as I read this book but had to put it down for half a day just to keep myself from reading the last chapter.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews