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Backcast
"I love Ann McMan."-Dorothy Allison, National Book Award finalist for Bastard Out of Carolina
When sculptor and author Barb Davis is given an NEA grant to pair original feminist sculptures with searing first-person essays on transitions in women's lives, she organizes a two week writing retreat with twelve of the best, brightest, and most notorious lesbian authors in the business. But in between regularly scheduled happy hours and writing sessions, the women enter a tournament bass fishing competition, receive life coaching from a wise-cracking fish named Phoebe, and uncover a subterranean world of secrets and desires that is as varied and elusive as the fish that swim the inland sea.
Set on the beautiful shores of Vermont's Lake Champlain, Backcast is richly populated with an expansive cast of endearing and outrageous characters who battle writer's block, quirky locals, personal demons, unexpected attractions, and even each other during their two-week residency. For Barb and each of her twelve writers, the stakes in this fast-moving story are high, but its emotional and romantic payoffs are slow and sweet.
Filled with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and breathtaking pathos, Backcast serves up a sometimes irreverent, sometimes sobering look at the hidden lives of women, and how they laugh, love, lose, and blunder through their own search for meaning.
Ann McMan is the author of five novels, including Jericho and Aftermath, and two short story collections. She has won two Golden Crown Literary Awards and her novel, Hoosier Daddy, was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist.
When sculptor and author Barb Davis is given an NEA grant to pair original feminist sculptures with searing first-person essays on transitions in women's lives, she organizes a two week writing retreat with twelve of the best, brightest, and most notorious lesbian authors in the business. But in between regularly scheduled happy hours and writing sessions, the women enter a tournament bass fishing competition, receive life coaching from a wise-cracking fish named Phoebe, and uncover a subterranean world of secrets and desires that is as varied and elusive as the fish that swim the inland sea.
Set on the beautiful shores of Vermont's Lake Champlain, Backcast is richly populated with an expansive cast of endearing and outrageous characters who battle writer's block, quirky locals, personal demons, unexpected attractions, and even each other during their two-week residency. For Barb and each of her twelve writers, the stakes in this fast-moving story are high, but its emotional and romantic payoffs are slow and sweet.
Filled with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and breathtaking pathos, Backcast serves up a sometimes irreverent, sometimes sobering look at the hidden lives of women, and how they laugh, love, lose, and blunder through their own search for meaning.
Ann McMan is the author of five novels, including Jericho and Aftermath, and two short story collections. She has won two Golden Crown Literary Awards and her novel, Hoosier Daddy, was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2015
51 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Ann McMan
33 books571 followersCollege at an indifferent liberal arts institution taught Ann McMan that understanding subject/verb agreement was not enough to secure her fame and fortune. After graduation, she got a job driving a young adult bookmobile—and spent her days piloting the great rig across the dusty back roads of rural North Carolina. Her duties included making certain that the mobile library always contained at least six copies of "Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret", visiting the county detention unit (it was a great way to catch up with her brothers), and showing public service films about safe sex to pre-teens at 4-H Clubs all across her part of “The New South.”
Soon, the allure of higher education coaxed Ann back to school. For the past three decades, Ann has worked at a succession of premier institutions, designing marketing and advancement materials that promote, promulgate, and extol the benefits of indifferent liberal arts education.
Somebody has to do it.
All this time, she continued to write. And when, at the ripe old age of thirty, she realized that she was not like other girls, the great world of lesbian literature opened its arms, and provided her with a safe haven in which to grow and learn about her new identity. She will forever be indebted to those literary pioneers who had the courage, the talent, and the temerity to gift us all with an art form of our own. Ann’s first and subsequent attempts at writing lesbian fiction have been heartfelt attempts to pay that great gift forward.
Ann McMan is the author of three novels, JERICHO, DUST, and AFTERMATH–and the story collection SIDECAR.
In 2011, Ann, along with her novels JERICHO and DUST and her short story “I Saw Xena Kissing Senticles” were elected to The Royal Academy of Bards Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was awarded the Alice B. Lavender Certificate.
BACKCAST, further adventures of the CLIT-Con 13 (that zany cast of authors from SIDECAR’s “Bottle Rocket”) will be released in 2013.
Soon, the allure of higher education coaxed Ann back to school. For the past three decades, Ann has worked at a succession of premier institutions, designing marketing and advancement materials that promote, promulgate, and extol the benefits of indifferent liberal arts education.
Somebody has to do it.
All this time, she continued to write. And when, at the ripe old age of thirty, she realized that she was not like other girls, the great world of lesbian literature opened its arms, and provided her with a safe haven in which to grow and learn about her new identity. She will forever be indebted to those literary pioneers who had the courage, the talent, and the temerity to gift us all with an art form of our own. Ann’s first and subsequent attempts at writing lesbian fiction have been heartfelt attempts to pay that great gift forward.
Ann McMan is the author of three novels, JERICHO, DUST, and AFTERMATH–and the story collection SIDECAR.
In 2011, Ann, along with her novels JERICHO and DUST and her short story “I Saw Xena Kissing Senticles” were elected to The Royal Academy of Bards Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was awarded the Alice B. Lavender Certificate.
BACKCAST, further adventures of the CLIT-Con 13 (that zany cast of authors from SIDECAR’s “Bottle Rocket”) will be released in 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
November 29, 2015
It is so much harder to review a great book than it is to review a good book. With a good book you can slam dunk that it’s a good story with good characters, say you liked it and you are done. When you read remarkable books, you have to think about it so much more – how to express why a book it significant without sounding sycophantic or fantastic.
So Ann McMan’s Backcast is a great book. It is not just an excellent read, but an important book in a line of notable publications we are seeing from our really good lesbian authors. Lesbian writers who are moving the lesfic genre on; who make us think, challenge us, entertain us. Authors who want to write – can write – amazing books, who happen to be lesbians and don’t sell out their personal story line to make their books mainstream – despite having the obvious ability to be lauded mainstream writers.
Before people start shouting, I am not criticising everybody else, or downing other authors. I love all sorts of lesfic from romance and erotica to fantasy and crime, and we need it all. But I also want us to have literary lesfic, modern lesfic that will stand up with Woolf and May-Brown, Miller and Forrest. Lesfic that shows off our great writers, that promotes good writing, that showcases the breadth and depth of our genre which has moved way beyond the ‘penny dreadfuls’ of the early days.
Backcast is one of those books. On the surface it is a fairly straightforward tale of 13 women who come together for two weeks at a writers workshop, from which the organising artist will create an exhibition. This simple plotline gives Ann McMan the platform to create 13 strong, individual, extremely powerful and eccentric characters. Out of such a seemingly modest beginning we have drama, romance, history – except it really is herstory this time – and a deeply personal glance into what makes these women who they are.
As always, McMan’s books are elegantly and cohesively put together. Her words flow and the balance between the elements is so perfect you forget you are reading. Her characterisation and dialogue are immaculate presentations of real people, they must be real for her descriptions to be so tangible and the characters to be so authentic. And to add flavour we have 13 shorts in the voices of our 13 women, again realistic, authentic, the expressions of genuine women’s lives.
It made me laugh, a lot – McMan’s books have a deep-seated humour running through their veins. It made me cry – I defy any of our friends and family of choice to read ‘Heal Thyself’ after recent events and not weep. But most of all it made me feel like I was there, sitting on the lawn chairs, drinking the cocktails, hating the aspic, enjoying these women.
There is a flavour of the women’s scene from yesteryear for me personally. Maybe it has survived in the conferences and festivals in the US, but I haven’t been in that atmosphere of exciting, creative, challenging women since the 90’s. I think it no accident that most of these women are not spring chickens, and many have literally been around the block.
You see it has me enthralled. I have to read it again. I don’t have a choice. One reading simply isn’t enough to garner even a part of the richness and depth of these women and their interactions – let alone know all I need to know about competitive bass fishing.
I rarely give books 5 stars anymore because if I give out too many 5’s what’s left? Needless to say this is a 6. Read it.
(publisher review copy received)
So Ann McMan’s Backcast is a great book. It is not just an excellent read, but an important book in a line of notable publications we are seeing from our really good lesbian authors. Lesbian writers who are moving the lesfic genre on; who make us think, challenge us, entertain us. Authors who want to write – can write – amazing books, who happen to be lesbians and don’t sell out their personal story line to make their books mainstream – despite having the obvious ability to be lauded mainstream writers.
Before people start shouting, I am not criticising everybody else, or downing other authors. I love all sorts of lesfic from romance and erotica to fantasy and crime, and we need it all. But I also want us to have literary lesfic, modern lesfic that will stand up with Woolf and May-Brown, Miller and Forrest. Lesfic that shows off our great writers, that promotes good writing, that showcases the breadth and depth of our genre which has moved way beyond the ‘penny dreadfuls’ of the early days.
Backcast is one of those books. On the surface it is a fairly straightforward tale of 13 women who come together for two weeks at a writers workshop, from which the organising artist will create an exhibition. This simple plotline gives Ann McMan the platform to create 13 strong, individual, extremely powerful and eccentric characters. Out of such a seemingly modest beginning we have drama, romance, history – except it really is herstory this time – and a deeply personal glance into what makes these women who they are.
As always, McMan’s books are elegantly and cohesively put together. Her words flow and the balance between the elements is so perfect you forget you are reading. Her characterisation and dialogue are immaculate presentations of real people, they must be real for her descriptions to be so tangible and the characters to be so authentic. And to add flavour we have 13 shorts in the voices of our 13 women, again realistic, authentic, the expressions of genuine women’s lives.
It made me laugh, a lot – McMan’s books have a deep-seated humour running through their veins. It made me cry – I defy any of our friends and family of choice to read ‘Heal Thyself’ after recent events and not weep. But most of all it made me feel like I was there, sitting on the lawn chairs, drinking the cocktails, hating the aspic, enjoying these women.
There is a flavour of the women’s scene from yesteryear for me personally. Maybe it has survived in the conferences and festivals in the US, but I haven’t been in that atmosphere of exciting, creative, challenging women since the 90’s. I think it no accident that most of these women are not spring chickens, and many have literally been around the block.
You see it has me enthralled. I have to read it again. I don’t have a choice. One reading simply isn’t enough to garner even a part of the richness and depth of these women and their interactions – let alone know all I need to know about competitive bass fishing.
I rarely give books 5 stars anymore because if I give out too many 5’s what’s left? Needless to say this is a 6. Read it.
(publisher review copy received)
February 6, 2016
Most people think Ann McMan is great at writing humor but, for me, her biggest strength is the way she strips characters bare and exposes their souls. That's what I love about Backcast the most.
I wrote a longer review on my site (C-Spot Reviews) but it pretty much says what I wrote above.
(I went 4.5 on Booklikes but rounded up here)
I wrote a longer review on my site (C-Spot Reviews) but it pretty much says what I wrote above.
(I went 4.5 on Booklikes but rounded up here)
December 6, 2015
I heard about Backcast before I ever read it, and my first reaction was jealousy. A woman named Ann McMan had written a book that featured a talking fish--a bass. And although I'd never even imagined such a concept, I wanted to have written a book with a talking bass. But after I read Backcast, I realized that I never could have written the character of Phoebe; only Ann McMan could have created her and made her believable. When I met Phoebe on the page, I fell in love immediately.
Maybe, reading this, you're thinking that you're not interested in a talking bass. No problem--Backcast has thirteen people with stories to tell you. Sculptor Barbara Davis has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create a "touring exhibit of twelve sculptures that chronicle the female metamorphosis." Barb gathers eleven writers from the CLIT-con lesbian writers conference as well as her friend Mavis and brings them all to her cousins inn on Lake Champlain in Clifstock, VT for two weeks. Barb will work on the sculptures while the women write their stories. The stories appear throughout the book, numbered and in a different typeface. You might try to guess, as I did, which story goes with each character.
There's a lot of humor in Backcast, which is to be expected from Ann McMan. But there's so much more. Some of the stories will break your heart.
I can be a very judgmental person, making assumptions about what other people's lives are like. But Backcast reminded me that we never really know what other people have endured. To use a water metaphor, when we see people we are seeing the surface of the water. But beautiful worlds await those who dare to go deeper,
Backcast is a rare and wonderful book. Don't miss it.
Maybe, reading this, you're thinking that you're not interested in a talking bass. No problem--Backcast has thirteen people with stories to tell you. Sculptor Barbara Davis has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create a "touring exhibit of twelve sculptures that chronicle the female metamorphosis." Barb gathers eleven writers from the CLIT-con lesbian writers conference as well as her friend Mavis and brings them all to her cousins inn on Lake Champlain in Clifstock, VT for two weeks. Barb will work on the sculptures while the women write their stories. The stories appear throughout the book, numbered and in a different typeface. You might try to guess, as I did, which story goes with each character.
There's a lot of humor in Backcast, which is to be expected from Ann McMan. But there's so much more. Some of the stories will break your heart.
I can be a very judgmental person, making assumptions about what other people's lives are like. But Backcast reminded me that we never really know what other people have endured. To use a water metaphor, when we see people we are seeing the surface of the water. But beautiful worlds await those who dare to go deeper,
Backcast is a rare and wonderful book. Don't miss it.
January 28, 2016
This book left me wrecked for days. I loved it so much, now I'm recommending it to anyone who will listen.
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/backc...
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/backc...
February 8, 2016
I loved the essays written by the thirteen participants of the art installation and enjoyed trying to match the characters at the retreat with their back stories. I will reread this novel again just to see if I have any better success. I also enjoyed and appreciated the inclusion and representation of many facets of the LGBTQ spectrum.
What didn't work for me was the slapstick comedy, the predictable stereotypical lesbian humour, and the familiarity between such a large cast of characters.
There is nothing wrong with humour in a good story. I loved all the scenes involving Quinn, Montana , Junior and their "bass boat". Quinn's voyage of discovery was a highlight for me. The many conversations and silly debates between characters at the retreat detracted from what could have been a powerful book about the lives and resiliency of the women involved.
What didn't work for me was the slapstick comedy, the predictable stereotypical lesbian humour, and the familiarity between such a large cast of characters.
There is nothing wrong with humour in a good story. I loved all the scenes involving Quinn, Montana , Junior and their "bass boat". Quinn's voyage of discovery was a highlight for me. The many conversations and silly debates between characters at the retreat detracted from what could have been a powerful book about the lives and resiliency of the women involved.
February 7, 2016
I think I missed something! I really enjoyed the book, but I think it's a book you need to read more than once to get all the details. I have questions, and maybe that's on purpose. Maybe I just didn't pick up on all the dynamics. I will read this book again.. Probably more that just one time. It makes you think. It's serious then humorous. Too many great things to say. Read it.
December 4, 2015
I always look forward to Ann McMan's books. Her debut novel, JERICHO, captured me with its timeless story, rich characters and the humor that underscored it all. I promised myself I wouldn't miss anything she wrote subsequently, and I haven't. DUST, SIDECAR, AFTERMATH, THREE, HOOSIER DADDY, FESTIVAL NURSE...all were snapped up and devoured. Terrific stories,excellent writing, and I highly recommend them all.
And then there's BACKCAST.
As wonderful as the other McMan books are (and they are), BACKCAST is in a class of its own. Reuniting us with characters introduced in SIDECAR, BACKCAST is a novel about a baker's dozen of women brought together for a two week workshop on Vermont's Lake Champlain with a side foray into tournament fishing. There's even a 200 year old smart alec of a talking fish named Phoebe. An odd juxtaposition of characters and events...and yet. It works beautifully.
The narrative portion of the novel depicts the "here and now" of the characters while the individual essays written by each character recount defining moments in their lives. How Ann McMan meshes the two together is nothing short of amazing. I not only CARED about the characters, but I felt downright voyeuristic in reading their deeply personal essays. I think every woman can relate to at least one of the essays. Most of us can relate to more than one. Their experiences? Yes, but ours too.
To sum it up: GET THIS BOOK. Read it. Ponder it. It's set a new bar for lesbian literature.
And then there's BACKCAST.
As wonderful as the other McMan books are (and they are), BACKCAST is in a class of its own. Reuniting us with characters introduced in SIDECAR, BACKCAST is a novel about a baker's dozen of women brought together for a two week workshop on Vermont's Lake Champlain with a side foray into tournament fishing. There's even a 200 year old smart alec of a talking fish named Phoebe. An odd juxtaposition of characters and events...and yet. It works beautifully.
The narrative portion of the novel depicts the "here and now" of the characters while the individual essays written by each character recount defining moments in their lives. How Ann McMan meshes the two together is nothing short of amazing. I not only CARED about the characters, but I felt downright voyeuristic in reading their deeply personal essays. I think every woman can relate to at least one of the essays. Most of us can relate to more than one. Their experiences? Yes, but ours too.
To sum it up: GET THIS BOOK. Read it. Ponder it. It's set a new bar for lesbian literature.
February 1, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Ms McMan has a wicked sense of humour. Phoebe was a blast; and I enjoyed the complexities, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies exhibited by the members of the group of 13.
In fact, it took me a bit to recognize the characters as being from another of her stories, but I can be a tad dense at times.
I thought Quinn's side trip would have no bearing on the authors' gathering. It was an Aha! moment when it all came together.
Pfft! Clearly I was not in tune with Ms McMan. Which is why she is the writer and I but a humble reader.
In fact, it took me a bit to recognize the characters as being from another of her stories, but I can be a tad dense at times.
I thought Quinn's side trip would have no bearing on the authors' gathering. It was an Aha! moment when it all came together.
Pfft! Clearly I was not in tune with Ms McMan. Which is why she is the writer and I but a humble reader.
December 20, 2016
Wow. Just... wow.
December 8, 2015
I didn’t think it would be possible to beat Jericho, but it looks like Jeri Cho will be sharing her pedestal. Honestly, I was floored by the storytelling in Backcast. What an unexpected surprise this book turned out to be. Ever watch a movie at the theater, then end up turning the plot over in your mind days after seeing it? This is that type of story. And what’s even better is that it’s the kind of story in which the readers can gain a new perspective with every reread. I’ve read through this once and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface on what Ann McMan is trying to convey within its pages.
Reading the book jacket, you might feel a little overwhelmed with the number of narratives contained in Backcast (13 in total). I wondered if there were too many cooks in that kitchen, and whether or not the dinner would end up palatable. Lets just say that Backcast is the equivalent of a 12-course meal served at a Chinese wedding. Party. In. Your. Mouth. Or rather, party in your brain. Between chapters are the personal essays that the characters have written for the project. In the beginning, I was racking my brain trying to figure out which of the characters wrote each of the essays. I felt like I was playing a game of Clue, and losing… badly. It seemed like the essays could’ve been written by anyone. Hell, it could’ve even been written by Phoebe, the giant fish in the lake.
It wasn’t until I was about halfway in that I realized that identifying the source was only secondary to what these stories meant collectively. These stories are our stories. These are our painful experiences and transitions. It can happen to you, it can happen to me, and we’ve all experienced (directly or indirectly) it’s aftermath. Backcast illustrates how interconnected we are as women and as human beings, and your heart will fill with compassion for all of its characters. There were two stories in particular that made me tear up at the end. When it was revealed who the authors were in the appendix, I was a mess.
If there’s only one novel you’re going to read this year, make it this one.
http://lesreadoutloud.com/2015/12/07/...
Reading the book jacket, you might feel a little overwhelmed with the number of narratives contained in Backcast (13 in total). I wondered if there were too many cooks in that kitchen, and whether or not the dinner would end up palatable. Lets just say that Backcast is the equivalent of a 12-course meal served at a Chinese wedding. Party. In. Your. Mouth. Or rather, party in your brain. Between chapters are the personal essays that the characters have written for the project. In the beginning, I was racking my brain trying to figure out which of the characters wrote each of the essays. I felt like I was playing a game of Clue, and losing… badly. It seemed like the essays could’ve been written by anyone. Hell, it could’ve even been written by Phoebe, the giant fish in the lake.
It wasn’t until I was about halfway in that I realized that identifying the source was only secondary to what these stories meant collectively. These stories are our stories. These are our painful experiences and transitions. It can happen to you, it can happen to me, and we’ve all experienced (directly or indirectly) it’s aftermath. Backcast illustrates how interconnected we are as women and as human beings, and your heart will fill with compassion for all of its characters. There were two stories in particular that made me tear up at the end. When it was revealed who the authors were in the appendix, I was a mess.
If there’s only one novel you’re going to read this year, make it this one.
http://lesreadoutloud.com/2015/12/07/...
May 18, 2016
Hope... That is the overriding emotion this book left me with. Don't misunderstand, I ran the gamut of the emotional spectrum as I read, but Hope won out.
This story is as layered and intricate as a Tibetan sand painting, exhibiting such beauty, focus and care with each character as to make them familiar. I 'knew' these women. I've met them, socialized with them, loved them, been them. Woven throughout are the 'project essays', initially with character author unknown, standing as sentinels of survival, of courage, and strength in the face of those many challenges one faces in life.
The setting, the characters and their individual foibles, the purpose for this unusual gathering of writers, and those essays all combine to produce an emotionally breathtaking masterpiece. If you're like me, you will try to match the essay to the character and if you're really paying attention you may get a few right. In the end, when you discover the owner of each essay, there are 'aha moments' in abundance.
Ann McMan has written a story that stands in a literary class occupied by few and should not be missed. If it's not in your 'to be read' pile, it should be.
This story is as layered and intricate as a Tibetan sand painting, exhibiting such beauty, focus and care with each character as to make them familiar. I 'knew' these women. I've met them, socialized with them, loved them, been them. Woven throughout are the 'project essays', initially with character author unknown, standing as sentinels of survival, of courage, and strength in the face of those many challenges one faces in life.
The setting, the characters and their individual foibles, the purpose for this unusual gathering of writers, and those essays all combine to produce an emotionally breathtaking masterpiece. If you're like me, you will try to match the essay to the character and if you're really paying attention you may get a few right. In the end, when you discover the owner of each essay, there are 'aha moments' in abundance.
Ann McMan has written a story that stands in a literary class occupied by few and should not be missed. If it's not in your 'to be read' pile, it should be.
November 29, 2015
So something big happened to me, i fell in love, not with one, three or five, but 13 (12)ladies... i know i know, you are thinking hooow on earth, right?... i'll tell ya what, i'll share the simple steps so you can achieve this amazeballs feeling yourself.
Step 1: Buy this book
Step 2: read, read, read ..dont like even put it down - devour it
Step 3: Swoon here right next to me
ok? ready, set GO ..and cya in a bit ;)
No but seriously, this was one emotional rollercoster ride, one minute you are laughing out loud, next awwww-ing and giggling and then POW! -misty eyes and blurry sight and a major craving for chocolate when those essays come up and u feel those stories tugging at your heartstrings making these characters dig their way into your heart, hyperspeed mode!
... Ann McMan, i really heart your book..thank you!
Step 1: Buy this book
Step 2: read, read, read ..dont like even put it down - devour it
Step 3: Swoon here right next to me
ok? ready, set GO ..and cya in a bit ;)
No but seriously, this was one emotional rollercoster ride, one minute you are laughing out loud, next awwww-ing and giggling and then POW! -misty eyes and blurry sight and a major craving for chocolate when those essays come up and u feel those stories tugging at your heartstrings making these characters dig their way into your heart, hyperspeed mode!
... Ann McMan, i really heart your book..thank you!
January 16, 2016
This was interesting. The reviews I read about it all talked about how funny it was. And while I found it entertaining, and it did illicit a fair number of smiles from me, funny is not the first thought that comes to me about this story. This is, I believe, a feminist piece. It's a group of women talking and writing about what it means to be a woman, both the beauty and the pain. There were a few instances where I was a tad uncomfortable because it seemed that some of the characters weren't inclusive of any experience that didn't fall under the umbrella of cisgender lesbian, but as I read on that impression lessened.
This had some unexpected plot twists, some I appreciated and some I really didn't, but overall I enjoyed reading this.
This had some unexpected plot twists, some I appreciated and some I really didn't, but overall I enjoyed reading this.
February 17, 2016
I read this with anticipation I had listened to the Author talk about it on the Cocktail Hour, I was hoping they were right that this was a great book. They were, it was smart and funny, the characters were treated with respect I find it fascinating that so many voices could be shared in such a small place yet I did not feel that any one got short changed each encounter revealed something about them each and every time they made an appearance and I felt that I like them all,not because they had something spectacular about them but because they like the rest of us were on a journey through this life and are trying to do the best that they can to be the best that they are. I love the book one of the best that I have read.
January 13, 2016
Yes, it was marvelous!
I don't know how to start this review, I can't find the right words. That's why I keep it simple for myself. I just loved it, it was a marvelous story. There was dynamic between the 13 women and of course plenty of drama. Each woman had her peculiarities and that made each of them so extraordinary. I have laughed at the strange dialogues (but meaningful) between Quinn and Phoebe. Ann did such a great job the way she described the fishing tournament, both the "training" as the competition itself. It felt like I was part of the contest myself. The style of writing was very different but I enjoyed it very much.
I don't know how to start this review, I can't find the right words. That's why I keep it simple for myself. I just loved it, it was a marvelous story. There was dynamic between the 13 women and of course plenty of drama. Each woman had her peculiarities and that made each of them so extraordinary. I have laughed at the strange dialogues (but meaningful) between Quinn and Phoebe. Ann did such a great job the way she described the fishing tournament, both the "training" as the competition itself. It felt like I was part of the contest myself. The style of writing was very different but I enjoyed it very much.
May 13, 2016
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book! Loved the story, the characters and the symbolism. Apparently you can judge a book by its cover. In this case they are both fantastic! Thank you, Ann McMan.
Now I'm ready for a cold Backcast Pale Ale.
Now I'm ready for a cold Backcast Pale Ale.
June 25, 2023
Barb Davis is a metal sculptor. She gets an NEA grant for her project and gets together 11 sapphic authors to write essays about poignant times of their lives, and she will build a sculpture based on these essays. She also enlists Mavis, to drive her across country to Vermont, where all the women are to meet up for 2 weeks to complete the essays.
You get to read the essays and help prepare for a Bass tournament. You also are privy to a peak into the authors relationships. This is like no book I've read before and is definitely a reread. Should be more than 5 stars!!
You get to read the essays and help prepare for a Bass tournament. You also are privy to a peak into the authors relationships. This is like no book I've read before and is definitely a reread. Should be more than 5 stars!!
March 12, 2023
Lots of humor mixed in with the stories of the lives of these women. I read each essay twice, once not know who the author was, and a second time after finding out who wrote which in the back of the page. I enjoyed reading the different stages of relationships between the thirteen women. Not going to lie I want more of them all. It was like a glimpse and I want more of the full stories. I especially enjoyed finding Jimmie Dean in the book! I won’t ruin the surprise and tell which one is her. If you don’t know, she is from McMan’s Jericho series. She and Charlie have history together. You find out a bit of what happened to them from Charlie’s POV in book four Covenant, and then you get more from Jimmie POV in her essay in Backcast.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2016
Originally I was going to read this book but I am glad that I did. It's a good story and unique as the background of pretty much each character is told in a essay written by them. By doing that, I feel it gave a different perspective and insight into who the character was and how it has shaped them to now. With so many characters, there are several stories within this book but I feel the main focus was on Quinn and fishing and Kate and Shawn. I highly recommend the read (although, there were several places that ? should not have been used and it was driving me insane).
December 10, 2015
This book started a little slow for me, and after the first chapter I thought I was going to hate it. Then we started to get a better introduction to the supporting characters. The I was quickly sucked into the weird cast of characters and their snippets of back stories. One of the things I enjoyed was matching the authors to the essay's.
June 7, 2016
I'm I a bad lesbian because I did not like this book? I LOVED Jericho and re-read it several times...this book? I could not get into it...not sure what the appeal is by all the 4+ stars...I found the characters ridiculously quirky, and not interesting. Feminist writers-bass fishing- and a talking fish? I think I was hoping for another Romance like Jericho with characters that were likable...
July 1, 2016
There were a few things that bugged me, but I loved the idea of the essays and the artwork. It was just overall a little to smooshy, espeacially despite all the meta comments about lesbian fiction.
And the confrontation with one of the authors rapists was so not satisfiying.
And the confrontation with one of the authors rapists was so not satisfiying.
January 13, 2019
I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it. I had a hard time figuring out all the characters and now that I know who wrote which essay I have to go back and read them all. So...I’ll update this review then.
December 15, 2023
I listened to the audiobook which I found on the list from the Audible-Plus catalog of temporarily free audiobooks. I’ve read a couple other books by Ann McMan that I enjoyed. I’ll need to re-listen since my listening sessions were so scattered.
September 13, 2017
A complex and multidimensional tale which wouldn't have been at all easy to write. That being said; its extremely well written. Ann McMan rocks!
December 5, 2020
2.5 stars, rounded up because lesbians
July 18, 2022
I cried real tears over a big mean fish. What a book!!! I want to live in it.
April 16, 2016
The beginning starts by introducing Barb, a metal sculpturalist contracted for a multi-layered show featuring feminist-centric essays and accompanying artwork. To that end, she brings together a cadre of characters to meet for a writing workshop at her cousin’s Vermont resort. There is a plethora of good humor from the start and excellent characterizations throughout. The story is primarily light-hearted interspersed with poignant essays written by these quirky women. Some essays are heart-wrenching, others are lighter, but all can be taken as a master class of how to cut to the heart of deep issues in a minimum number of characters. This was even more interesting for the reader because you never find out who wrote which essay until the end glossary. I want to read it again now that I’m armed with the knowledge of their deepest secrets, which I believe will make their reactions to circumstances even more enthralling.
The group of authors meeting together, some finding love, others finding opportunity, and still others are on the search to discover themselves. All are believably flawed and interesting for different reasons. Although this is in every way an ensemble piece, some women get more of a spotlight than others. Which was fine, as to give everyone the same screen time would have greatly inflated what is a surprisingly cohesive account.
My only real complaint was the overuse of character names. This was primarily noticeable with the frequent mention of one character in particular: V. Jay Jay. I get the joke, her name is humorous, though only really after a few mentions. After that I started to cringe every time she came onto a scene, which is unfortunate, as she was one of my favorite characters. Once Darien began calling her “Vee” I was hopeful it would switch to that, as everyone else was going by their first names/nicknames, but that never happened. I think I counted at one point 5-6 V. Jay Jay mentions in a single page, which was just way too much (and not just with her name, but all the characters I came to realize received the same treatment). I do understand why one would think repetitive mentions are necessary, as there are a lot of individuals to keep track of. However it all just became excessive. Aside from that, this was a very original story that was able to evoke an incredible depth of emotions in me, which is uncommon in a story with such a quirky cast. It doesn’t hurt that it features some good-natured ribbing at the lesfic genre as well. Do all the subplots get tied up perfectly? Mostly. Were there characters I didn’t feel like I got to spend enough time with? Certainly. But I highly recommend this one all the same. It was unexpectedly complex, and an absolute pleasure to read.
The group of authors meeting together, some finding love, others finding opportunity, and still others are on the search to discover themselves. All are believably flawed and interesting for different reasons. Although this is in every way an ensemble piece, some women get more of a spotlight than others. Which was fine, as to give everyone the same screen time would have greatly inflated what is a surprisingly cohesive account.
My only real complaint was the overuse of character names. This was primarily noticeable with the frequent mention of one character in particular: V. Jay Jay. I get the joke, her name is humorous, though only really after a few mentions. After that I started to cringe every time she came onto a scene, which is unfortunate, as she was one of my favorite characters. Once Darien began calling her “Vee” I was hopeful it would switch to that, as everyone else was going by their first names/nicknames, but that never happened. I think I counted at one point 5-6 V. Jay Jay mentions in a single page, which was just way too much (and not just with her name, but all the characters I came to realize received the same treatment). I do understand why one would think repetitive mentions are necessary, as there are a lot of individuals to keep track of. However it all just became excessive. Aside from that, this was a very original story that was able to evoke an incredible depth of emotions in me, which is uncommon in a story with such a quirky cast. It doesn’t hurt that it features some good-natured ribbing at the lesfic genre as well. Do all the subplots get tied up perfectly? Mostly. Were there characters I didn’t feel like I got to spend enough time with? Certainly. But I highly recommend this one all the same. It was unexpectedly complex, and an absolute pleasure to read.
April 5, 2016
Backcast is set at a resort hotel on the shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont. Sculptor and author, Barb Davis, is awarded an NEA grant to create an installation of feminist sculptures inspired by and paired with essays written by twelve women she chose to include on a two-week writing and sculpting retreat at the resort.
During the retreat, the women also get involved in a Pro/Am bass fishing tournament where they meet and converse with a two-hundred-year-old large mouth bass named Phoebe.
Ann McMan has written a work of art in Backcast which should be read and studied in high schools and colleges around the world. It is that good and that important. The themes and issues she presents through the individual essays are poignant and timelessly relevant for women of all ages and ethnicities. And the quiet and anonymous manner in which Ann chose to reveal the struggles of these women was absolute genius.
I cannot possibly adequately convey how moved and inspired I was by this book. It was sad, funny, happy, frustrating, intriguing, uplifting, terrifying, and so much more. Recently I've had the pleasure of connecting with new women in my life. In just a short time I've come to realize that each and every one of us has a deeply moving story to tell. We have each suffered. We have each known pain. We've also each known love, happiness, and contentment. I'm discovering that being a woman is so different from being a man. That may sound overly simplistic. But as you read Backcast, the profound difference is readily apparent.
Ann McMan, I give you five stars for Backcast. She spent a long time in the womb, but this baby was well worth the wait.
During the retreat, the women also get involved in a Pro/Am bass fishing tournament where they meet and converse with a two-hundred-year-old large mouth bass named Phoebe.
Ann McMan has written a work of art in Backcast which should be read and studied in high schools and colleges around the world. It is that good and that important. The themes and issues she presents through the individual essays are poignant and timelessly relevant for women of all ages and ethnicities. And the quiet and anonymous manner in which Ann chose to reveal the struggles of these women was absolute genius.
I cannot possibly adequately convey how moved and inspired I was by this book. It was sad, funny, happy, frustrating, intriguing, uplifting, terrifying, and so much more. Recently I've had the pleasure of connecting with new women in my life. In just a short time I've come to realize that each and every one of us has a deeply moving story to tell. We have each suffered. We have each known pain. We've also each known love, happiness, and contentment. I'm discovering that being a woman is so different from being a man. That may sound overly simplistic. But as you read Backcast, the profound difference is readily apparent.
Ann McMan, I give you five stars for Backcast. She spent a long time in the womb, but this baby was well worth the wait.
June 12, 2021
This book tells the story of a group of lesbian writers on a writing retreat in Vermont. The women are each writing a personal essay that will be paired with the artwork of the organizer for a complete collection. 12 women were invited to participate with the artist and 13 essays completed the project. I liked the premise of this story, but thought the execution was terrible.
The storytelling is contrived, especially the whole segment about the bass fishing tournament and the special fish named Phoebe who had never been caught before. The dialog is stilted, forced and completely unnatural. Worse yet, the voices of all 13 women sounded identical. Each woman had a unique personality and background, but when they were speaking, you would not have been able to tell them apart if their names were not used. Also, the number of overused cliches in the dialog was just awful.
The one saving grace of this book was the essays. We actually get to read each of the 13 essays for the project. They are spread out within the book. I thought the essays were very good. In fact, if the 13 essays were sold as a collection apart from the rest of this book, I would have rated that collection 4 stars. However, if it weren’t for the essays, I would have DNF’d this book. That is an interesting dichotomy within a book written by one author.
The storytelling is contrived, especially the whole segment about the bass fishing tournament and the special fish named Phoebe who had never been caught before. The dialog is stilted, forced and completely unnatural. Worse yet, the voices of all 13 women sounded identical. Each woman had a unique personality and background, but when they were speaking, you would not have been able to tell them apart if their names were not used. Also, the number of overused cliches in the dialog was just awful.
The one saving grace of this book was the essays. We actually get to read each of the 13 essays for the project. They are spread out within the book. I thought the essays were very good. In fact, if the 13 essays were sold as a collection apart from the rest of this book, I would have rated that collection 4 stars. However, if it weren’t for the essays, I would have DNF’d this book. That is an interesting dichotomy within a book written by one author.
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