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Twister
By turns terrifying and humorous, clear-eyed and deep-hearted, Twister brings us into the center of a storm as a small Midwestern town mourns the death of a young soldier. Rose, the soldier’s fiercely independent mother, may or may not be losing her grip on reality, and we seek answers along with the constellation of family, friends, neighbors, and townspeople whose lives intertwine with hers. Each new viewpoint calls up singular memories and intrigue, raising stakes while the twister gathers force. As the storm drives into the heart of town secrets are illuminated, pasts are resurrected, and lives are shaken to the core. An unforgettable debut from a keen observer and chronicler of nature, people, and the ineffable.
- GenresFiction
374 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Genanne Walsh
3 books6 followersGenanne Walsh is the author of Eggs in Purgatory, a nonfiction chapbook published by WTAW Press and Twister, awarded the Big Moose Prize for the Novel from Black Lawrence Press. Twister was selected as a Finalist for the 2016 Housatonic Book Award in Fiction and the 2016 Sarton Women’s Book Award. After 30 years in San Francisco, she recently moved to Portland, Maine with her wife and dog.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 9, 2018
As the members of a small Midwestern town go about their daily business, it’s impossible to forget that a tornado is on its way. We begin with Rose, an ornery woman who, especially after the death of her soldier son Lance shook the town, has kept herself to herself. Perry Brown repeatedly proposes buying her farm so that he can expand his own operation, but she spurns all offers. Estranged from her stepsister Stella, Rose only has her dog Fergus for company. Short meteorological and historical overviews serve as tense interludes, moving from the general to the particular and providing brief transitions between character portraits.
The successive chapters are simultaneous, interlocking stories that all take place in the immediate run-up to the storm touching down. We meet Scottie Dunleavy, an odd fellow who runs a shoe repair shop and leaves secret messages on the soles of people’s footwear. From Louise Logan, a gossipy bank teller, we learn how Rose and Stella fell out; through the eyes of Perry’s wife Nina we see just how tenuous Rose’s solitary existence has become.
After cycling through the perspectives of eight main characters, the book returns to the past in Part II, which starts with the meeting and marriage of Stella’s mother and Rose’s father and moves forward to the near present. The chapters turn choppier as the news of Lance’s death approaches. “Everyone shrank” after the loss of this hometown boy, Walsh writes; like the tornado, his death is an inescapable reality the narrative keeps moving towards.
I love small-town tales where you get to know all the neighbors and their secrets. Twister called to mind for me works by Jane Smiley and Anne Tyler, with Rose also somewhat reminiscent of Hagar in Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel. Casualties by Elizabeth Marro is another readalike, focusing on a bereaved mother and her soldier son’s backstory.
Twister was a novel I read slowly, just 10 or 15 pages at a sitting, to savor Walsh’s prose. It’s not a book to race through for the plot but one to linger over as you appreciate the delicacy of the characterization and the electric descriptions of the impending storm:
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
The successive chapters are simultaneous, interlocking stories that all take place in the immediate run-up to the storm touching down. We meet Scottie Dunleavy, an odd fellow who runs a shoe repair shop and leaves secret messages on the soles of people’s footwear. From Louise Logan, a gossipy bank teller, we learn how Rose and Stella fell out; through the eyes of Perry’s wife Nina we see just how tenuous Rose’s solitary existence has become.
After cycling through the perspectives of eight main characters, the book returns to the past in Part II, which starts with the meeting and marriage of Stella’s mother and Rose’s father and moves forward to the near present. The chapters turn choppier as the news of Lance’s death approaches. “Everyone shrank” after the loss of this hometown boy, Walsh writes; like the tornado, his death is an inescapable reality the narrative keeps moving towards.
I love small-town tales where you get to know all the neighbors and their secrets. Twister called to mind for me works by Jane Smiley and Anne Tyler, with Rose also somewhat reminiscent of Hagar in Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel. Casualties by Elizabeth Marro is another readalike, focusing on a bereaved mother and her soldier son’s backstory.
Twister was a novel I read slowly, just 10 or 15 pages at a sitting, to savor Walsh’s prose. It’s not a book to race through for the plot but one to linger over as you appreciate the delicacy of the characterization and the electric descriptions of the impending storm:
“If all warnings fail, here is what to look for: the sky turns green, greenish black, brackish. Hail falls. There is a sound that some liken to a freight train, a jet engine, a thousand souped-up Buicks drag racing across a sky. Debris falls from on high—frogs, playing cards, plywood, mud, rock.”
“Warm air rushes ecstatic through the center, pulling and turning, forcing cold air out and down in waves, feeding the dance. Cold coils, pulling inward, more of it and stronger until the warm air snuffs out, the funnel choked, thinning and lifting away. It stretches into a long ribbon, harmless now, twirling across the sky.”
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
March 10, 2016
Twister is a work of power and grace. The writing is exquisite and the characters complex and often surprising. I was particularly drawn to Rose. I was often pulled into the poetic prose of Walsh's words. This read was a real treat and I highly recommend it.
December 21, 2015
Tornados are symbolic of ongoing verbal arguments, fighting and emotional tension in relationships. In dream analysis, they represent emotional upheaval, destructive behavior, and sudden change. I enjoyed this symbolism employed by author Genanne Walsh in her first novel, Twister: the approaching storm mimicking the building tension in nine small town characters' lives.
Part One of the book takes place on the day a tornado is predicted to hit. Walsh's decision to use multiple points of view—each character struggling with inner turmoil and personal issues—adds a mixture of perspectives and makes for a tension-filled read. Among the characters, Rose, the protagonist, is a grieving mother who has suffered multiple losses over the years; the last and most recent—her soldier son, Lance—has pushed her sanity to its limits. Stella, Rose's estranged stepsister, is trying to wedge her way back into Rose's life. Sylvie (Sill) Brown, the teenage neighbor girl who loved Lance since they were young children, now mourns his death quietly and alone. Perry Brown, Sill's father, and Rose's long-time neighbor wants Rose's acreage, but he is torn between his desire for the land and his conscience. And Ward Mondragon is the local shopkeeper with a skeleton in his closet.
Part Two opens up to the past, revealing secrets and enticing tidbits that explain how and why the characters come to be where they are on the day of the twister. The pieces of the puzzle come together as the story returns to present day, post-touchdown. We get the sense that the tension and anger building throughout Part One are sucked into the vortex and carried off as the storm continues its destructive journey.
Early in Rose's life, as she prepares to leave behind her in-town life to move to fiancé Theo's farm, she expresses to her father her hope that they can have a good life on the farm. He replies: "We live from hope to hope, my darlin' lass." So very true.
Walsh maintains that nice balance of action and dialogue throughout to advance this story of hope and forgiveness. Her unique voice, along with the movement between time periods, keeps the story fresh and interesting.
I gave this book the highest rating but would have felt more grounded if the author had indicated a specific year in which the story starts out, and had also given the small town a name. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this first-time novel by Genanne Walsh.
by Enid Cokinos
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Part One of the book takes place on the day a tornado is predicted to hit. Walsh's decision to use multiple points of view—each character struggling with inner turmoil and personal issues—adds a mixture of perspectives and makes for a tension-filled read. Among the characters, Rose, the protagonist, is a grieving mother who has suffered multiple losses over the years; the last and most recent—her soldier son, Lance—has pushed her sanity to its limits. Stella, Rose's estranged stepsister, is trying to wedge her way back into Rose's life. Sylvie (Sill) Brown, the teenage neighbor girl who loved Lance since they were young children, now mourns his death quietly and alone. Perry Brown, Sill's father, and Rose's long-time neighbor wants Rose's acreage, but he is torn between his desire for the land and his conscience. And Ward Mondragon is the local shopkeeper with a skeleton in his closet.
Part Two opens up to the past, revealing secrets and enticing tidbits that explain how and why the characters come to be where they are on the day of the twister. The pieces of the puzzle come together as the story returns to present day, post-touchdown. We get the sense that the tension and anger building throughout Part One are sucked into the vortex and carried off as the storm continues its destructive journey.
Early in Rose's life, as she prepares to leave behind her in-town life to move to fiancé Theo's farm, she expresses to her father her hope that they can have a good life on the farm. He replies: "We live from hope to hope, my darlin' lass." So very true.
Walsh maintains that nice balance of action and dialogue throughout to advance this story of hope and forgiveness. Her unique voice, along with the movement between time periods, keeps the story fresh and interesting.
I gave this book the highest rating but would have felt more grounded if the author had indicated a specific year in which the story starts out, and had also given the small town a name. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this first-time novel by Genanne Walsh.
by Enid Cokinos
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
January 3, 2016
Great structure: the book starts in the pre-twister hours, then goes into the past, and then ends after the twister. I also really loved the emotional restraint, which felt very midwestern to me.
September 19, 2017
A novel of great kindness and empathy for all who live and struggle in this Midwestern community, where the twister is the elemental disruption in an expanse of others. Beautiful.
March 27, 2024
What a disappointment, so convoluted with characters I cared nothing about. I gave up at 52%, DNF.
Based on the glowing reviews I was expecting so much more. A small town, a tornado but the story didn’t even start making sense until halfway through the book and by then, I just didn’t care anymore.
The author front loaded the story introducing eight random characters in the town then Part 2, gives their back stories. It just didn’t hold my interest. It was like reading a bunch of short stories that had no plot. There was no incentive to continue on for me.
Based on the glowing reviews I was expecting so much more. A small town, a tornado but the story didn’t even start making sense until halfway through the book and by then, I just didn’t care anymore.
The author front loaded the story introducing eight random characters in the town then Part 2, gives their back stories. It just didn’t hold my interest. It was like reading a bunch of short stories that had no plot. There was no incentive to continue on for me.
January 30, 2018
Really loved this. Very engrossing.
(full disclosure, the author's spouse is a friend of mine but that didn't influence my opinion of the book)
(full disclosure, the author's spouse is a friend of mine but that didn't influence my opinion of the book)
October 9, 2018
4.5 Stars
November 26, 2015
Twister by Genanne Walsh is a highly recommended story of turbulence in a small town. There is an actual tornado in the story, but the real storm is in the interpersonal relationships.
It feels like a storm is coming to a small Midwestern town that has fallen on hard times economically. All the residents can feel the change in the air and comment on it, even as the weather announcer on the radio forecasts the warnings. Walsh slowly introduces the residents of this town, revealing their inner thoughts, secrets, and longings. The town is a cyclone of unresolved issues and ongoing grievances.
A mother, Rose, is beside herself with grief as she mourns the death of her soldier son, Lance. Stella is Rose's estranged stepsister. What caused the rife between the two when they once were so close is not revealed until later in the novel. Walsh continues to introduce us to Rose's neighbors (the old man, Perry, Nina, Sill), Ward (Stella's husband), Louise (a local bank teller), and Scottie (the current owner of the shoe store), all while allowing the foreboding tension to slowly rise and build. You know things have happened in the past. You know something is going to happen - between individuals and with the approaching the storm.
Walsh does an excellent job capturing the complex emotions and interpersonal connections between the residents while allowing the reader insight into their thoughts. The beauty of allowing us to get an insider's view into each character makes them more human and complex individuals. My one qualm was with the pacing. It seemed to move too slowly and the big insights into the characters really don't come until later in the novel. Additionally, once the twister hit, we heard nothing more about it for pages while Walsh shares additional backstory. At times this slow, steady pace seemed detrimental to the plot. On the other hand it, did evoke the slower, measured routine of life in a small town, where daily routines and secrets are known about almost everyone.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Black Lawrence Press for review purposes.
http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/2...
It feels like a storm is coming to a small Midwestern town that has fallen on hard times economically. All the residents can feel the change in the air and comment on it, even as the weather announcer on the radio forecasts the warnings. Walsh slowly introduces the residents of this town, revealing their inner thoughts, secrets, and longings. The town is a cyclone of unresolved issues and ongoing grievances.
A mother, Rose, is beside herself with grief as she mourns the death of her soldier son, Lance. Stella is Rose's estranged stepsister. What caused the rife between the two when they once were so close is not revealed until later in the novel. Walsh continues to introduce us to Rose's neighbors (the old man, Perry, Nina, Sill), Ward (Stella's husband), Louise (a local bank teller), and Scottie (the current owner of the shoe store), all while allowing the foreboding tension to slowly rise and build. You know things have happened in the past. You know something is going to happen - between individuals and with the approaching the storm.
Walsh does an excellent job capturing the complex emotions and interpersonal connections between the residents while allowing the reader insight into their thoughts. The beauty of allowing us to get an insider's view into each character makes them more human and complex individuals. My one qualm was with the pacing. It seemed to move too slowly and the big insights into the characters really don't come until later in the novel. Additionally, once the twister hit, we heard nothing more about it for pages while Walsh shares additional backstory. At times this slow, steady pace seemed detrimental to the plot. On the other hand it, did evoke the slower, measured routine of life in a small town, where daily routines and secrets are known about almost everyone.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Black Lawrence Press for review purposes.
http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/2...
October 13, 2016
I'd had Twister on my nightstand for weeks, but hadn't cracked it because life was just too busy. Then, one weekend, I was laid flat by the flu and forced to stay in bed. I opened the book, and the next thing I knew three days had passed while I, completely engrossed in the story, barely noticed.
It's refreshing to me to read a novel in which the characters are so vivid, and yet so real. They gain dimension and definition from subtle details and complex inner lives, not from broad strokes and intrusive exposition. They're linked in all the ways -- good and bad -- that people in a small town are, and as the storm bears down on them, those connections feel simultaneously like strictures and lifelines.
Walsh's deft plot orchestration and luminous prose make Twister easily the most compelling novel I've read this year.
It's refreshing to me to read a novel in which the characters are so vivid, and yet so real. They gain dimension and definition from subtle details and complex inner lives, not from broad strokes and intrusive exposition. They're linked in all the ways -- good and bad -- that people in a small town are, and as the storm bears down on them, those connections feel simultaneously like strictures and lifelines.
Walsh's deft plot orchestration and luminous prose make Twister easily the most compelling novel I've read this year.
February 10, 2016
This is such a compelling and beautifully-written book. I love the mix of (fully realized) characters, the haunting sense of place, the love and betrayals holding the characters together. This is a book about the meaning of community and how we all go forward despite terrible life events. Highly recommend.
September 23, 2016
Read this book. A storm threatens a small midwestern town, but it is no less fierce and whirling than the personal relationships skillfully portrayed by Genanne Walsh, no less wild and uncontrolled than the alliances and misalliances within the community. Walsh's writing is lucid, but full of depth; it is poetic and without sentimentality.
March 30, 2020
Very well-written. Interesting intertwining of a cast of characters in small mid-Western town with the approaching tornado. My only complaint is that between the number of characters and points of view (8, I believe) and the jumping between the present and various times in the past, it felt confusing and disjointed at times. That said, it was a very enjoyable read.
January 10, 2017
Exquisite.
April 12, 2017
An engaging novel that tells the story of a storm through the points of view of a whole cast of characters from a single small town.
April 27, 2017
If I didn’t love this novel for the great read that it was, I would love it as a resource to study great writing. The structure impressed me immensely, with each of the three sections working to orchestrate the story in a non-linear fashion. I was struck by how deeply this author inhabited each character, and taken in by the complicated relationships between the characters, particularly between Rose and Stella. The enigmatic Scottie, with his odd behaviors, was a favorite. I like my reades to have psychological depth and nuance, and Twister has that in spades. Add in the wonderful sense of mystery that arose from a guiding narrative voice, and this book delivered it all.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews