Blue Rodeo

by Jo-Ann Mapson

Those who do not remember family history are condemned to repeat it...Haunted by a failed marriage, a resentful son left deaf by a bout of meningitis, and the slow death of her artistic aspirations, Margaret Yearwood takes refuge in Blue Dog, New Mexico. There, in the shadow of Shiprock Mountain, and in the unlikely arms of Owen Garrett, she finds the courage to love again, and to be loved. And she comes to realize that even the most primal wounds scar over and that there's nothing so renewable or so healing as passion. This is a bittersweet story of ordinary people who must learn to heal family bonds before they are permanently severed.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Womens Fiction, Novels

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Jo-Ann Mapson, a third generation Californian, grew up in Fullerton as a middle child with four siblings. She dropped out of college to marry, but later finished a creative writing degree at California State University, Long Beach. Following her son's birth in 1978, Mapson worked an assortment of odd jobs teaching horseback riding, cleaning houses, typing resumes, and working retail. After earning a graduate degree from Vermont College's low residency program, she taught at Orange Coast College for six years before turning to full-time writing in 1996. Mapson is the author of the acclaimed novels Shadow Ranch, Blue Rodeo, Hank Chloe, and Loving Chloe."The land is as much a character as the people," Mapson has said. Whether writing about the stark beauty of a California canyon or the poverty of an Arizona reservation, Mapson's landscapes are imbued with life. Setting her fiction in the Southwest, Mapson writes about a region that she knows well; after growing up in California and living for a time in Arizona and NewMexico, Mapson lives today in Costa Mesa, California. She attributes her focus on setting to the influence of Wallace Stegner.Like many of her characters, Mapson has ridden horses since she was a child. She owns a 35-year-old Appaloosa and has said that she learned about writing from learning to jump her horse, Tonto. "I realized," she said, "that the same thing that had been wrong with my riding was the same thing that had been wrong with my writing. In riding there is a term called `the moment of suspension,' when you're over the fence, just hanging in the air. I had to give myself up to it, let go, trust the motion. Once I got that right, everything fell into place."

Reviews

[Marleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blue Rodeo is an extremely atmospheric read. There's nothing fluffy or light about it, I can guarantee you that, but it isn't gloomy either. I think JoAnn Mapson’s writing is beautiful and it demands you to pay attention. Mapson is not your average romance writer. I’d qualify her more as a talented novelist who, being a woman of her time, understands the complexity of relations, whether they’d be between a mother and a son or between lovers. Mapson writes evocatively about the most basic human emotions and does that in all simplicity and honesty. She depicts ordinary people that are so genuine that they seem greater than life itself. There’s also something very tactile and sensual about her style.
The story in itself, if you’d read the synopsis, sounds like one in a dozen, but it isn’t – far from it - once you start reading, you’ll find this is the real deal, it’s bittersweet and full of wisdom right at the fingertips. This book just pulled me in for its wonderful style and its most amazing characterization. I was very much drawn by the dynamics between the main characters, Owen, Maggie and her son Peter. Even the secondary characters; Verbena Youngblood and Joe Yazzi are true gems.
The ending of this story is truly moving. It’s not a classic happy ending, but one filled with faith and hope. I was extremely gripped by that, and by the imagery that young deaf Peter was finally hearing things with his heart instead of with his ears. And all I could think of when reaching the last page of this book, is to travel to Northeast New Mexico, and experience firsthand this earthy/spiritual/wise world this author shared with me.
****4,5****

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of love between a city girl and a country boy. Okay, so they are middle-aged and with a bit of baggage, but that's what makes it all so much more interesting.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I read this novel, I wished I had read it before reading Owen's Daughter, also by JoAnn Mapson. The key characters in this novel continue their lives in the book Owen's Daughter.
The story is set in the fictional town of Blue Dog, New Mexico and revolves around Owen Garrett---a recovering alcoholic who is hiding from the law for a deed he committed in his drinking days, Margaret Yearwood---a woman who moved to Blue Dog after going through a divorce and having her son become deaf after a serious illness, and Peter Yearwood, Margaret's 15 year old son who is going through struggling with the loss of hearing and the usual adolescent rebellion.
Margaret had at one time had artistic goals but those had pretty much died after her marriage when she gave up her artistic career.
Mapson is very skilled in developing the characters. For much of the book, I detested Peter and decided that this intense dislike was a sign of good writing. Her descriptions of the characters and their conversations are definitely 'down-to-earth' and humorous at times.
This novel does not have a 'they lived happily ever after ending' and there is definitely a feeling that a sequel might be coming. However, the novel does end on an optimistic note seeing the emotional progress Margaret has made. Although I did not 'love' this novel, I would still recommend it and felt it was a worthwhile read.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Blue Rodeo eons ago, in my late twenties (about twenty years ago). In fact, I read a lot of Mapson's novels; I could not put them down. They are romantic, set on the grounds were oral histories and legends remain. Blue Rodeo is set on the backdrop of Navajo land where people must deal with their own demons, ghosts, and myths and legends. Although this is a romance novel (boy sees girl, falls in love with the girl, the boy leaves the girl....), the stereotype stops there. The men actually are much more complicated and interesting than the female characters. Peter, the protagonist's son is newly deaf and angry, and he and his mother must rewrite their own survival stories. Owen. the sharp-witted cowboy, whom Maggy falls in love with, must deal with his own ghosts -- ghost stories of his own abandoning. Joe suffers from PTSD and wears the story of the war on his scarred body (actually a favorite character). In Blue Radio, men are not legends or myths. The men have complicated lives filled with tragedy and grief. This is not a boy who saves the girl romance. The girl will survive. We read to see if the men can save themselves. Why two stars? I don't know; it just did not live up to its 90s magic.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a lot happens in this book, and it mostly felt like a character study. It shows how hard times challenge us and change us in unexpected ways, and how we build walls or learn to trust people again in new circumstances, how we grow over time and learn to actually make room for grief in our day to day existence. It was a bit of a slow read, but enjoyable nonetheless. Even if we don't get our expected happy ending, life is worth doing anyway.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this tale of the southwest. I felt like I was right there with all of the characters. It was a great story with interesting characters. Even though it wasn't exactly the happy ending that I would have liked, I did enjoy the resolution. I'd like to see a sequel to this one. Thanks again to Pamela Lynn for lending me this from your wonderful library.

[Lee Roversi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sheer evocative beauty of the language in this novel was enough to have me rereading passages often just to thoroughly absorb them. And the setting of New Mexico was sheer magic for me, as I have come to treasure a lot of time in Northern New Mexico. The characters were so well developed that I felt like I knew them. Believable, as well. I just loved this book.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loaned by a friend and read on her recommendation. I enjoyed the setting and the unusual love story, although this isn't a type of book that I would generally pick up on my own. I thought the author did a great job conveying a sense of place and I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. A good read!

[Susan Beecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable novel with interesting characters.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

[Molly Moody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked Mapson's writing. In fact, she would've earned 4 stars but she was too graphic when it came to sex.

[Andrea Balfour · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Sweet story about a family in upheaval and a situation that brings them back to grass roots living and loving.

[Lawana Sisam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been thankful that time moves on, that children grow up and that hearts heal! I liked the characters and I liked the ending!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good read by this author. I felt I really knew her characters, and I wanted to inhabit their somewhat forbidding landscape.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mapson does an excellent job of transporting you into the location of the story. The day I was reading about the New Mexico winter I was chilled to the bone, even though it's only September. I love her connection to the land and how she portrays that in her stories. Her characters are always flawed, sometimes unlovable, but they tell a good story. Looking forward to reading "Owen's Daughter" now that I know the background of Margaret, Owen, Peter and Bonnie, and everyone else living in Blue Dog, New Mexico.
(It seemed funny, reading about faxes and other cutting-edge technology from 20 years ago! How soon we forget!)

[Favolaetavola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the real pleasure of meeting Ms Mapson at a reading in Anchorage, Alaska this summer. UAA had their first year as a Low residency format and I went to a public reading while visiting a friend. Ms Mapson said that "Blue Rodeo" was the work she was most proud of. I went to get it soon after. I had read "The Wilder Sisters" and her "Bad Girl Creek" series before and was impressed with her characters and their depth in "Blue Rodeo". While I think her writing is geared toward female emotive more than literary, her voice is engaging and entertaining.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Owen Garrett of Blue Dog, New Mexico and his new neighbor, Margaret Yearwood. Margaret is recovering from a divorce, and trying to deal with the fact that her son has become deaf from a case of meningitis. Owen has secrets in his past too, but as Margaret opens up to Owen about her past life, there is still one big thing that Owen won’t tell. Margaret’s reconciliation with her son, Peter, and Owen’s friendship with Peter, are also threads in this story of a romance that almost works. (The book works, it’s the romance that’s iffy.)

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this book for several years. It crossed my mind a couple times, and I finally dug it out and re-read it. I think I kept it because I really liked it the first time I read it, but this second time around, I wasn't so impressed by it. Maybe it spoke to me at that time in my life, meant something I could relate to, but now it doesn't? I'm not sure. I kind of don't recommend it right now, yet maybe do recommend it just because something made me hold on to it all these years.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo-Ann Mapsen is one of my favorite authors. She writes great stories about believable characters. This book is no exception.
Maggie moves to Blue Dog to be close to her son. Her son, Peter, recently became deaf after an illness. He is attending a school for the deaf there.
Maggie's neighbor, Owen, is an interesting character. both Maggie and Owen have had other relationships (after all they are in their 40's) and are hesitant to become with others.

[Carole T. Beers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This unfolds as a clear, crisp and compelling story of damaged hearts healing each other in a relaxed yet multilayered New Mexico landscape. The shifting viewpoints between a divorced California mom who's run toward her newly deaf son at a private school, and a tender yet rugged cowboy shepherd trying to save a hurting Navajo pal, are set forth seamlessly. Passion of many kinds glances off the pages and finds its way to the reader's soul.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, as it describes how change happens to us when we open to it--a hard thing to "learn". I found the characters and their environments believable and loveable. "Comfortable companionship was no substitute for passion." After all.
I appreciated the wisdom about the cycles that life brings us not being good or bad, but events that change

[Mary Newcomb]

Margaret Yearwood came to Blue Dog NM to be closer to her son as he started at a school for the deaf, but also to heal from her divorce. The cowboy next door helped with the second part of her agenda but not exactly in the way I expected.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really into the story and really loved the characters here. But the ending made me sad and a little upset. Not going to say why, because I don't want to ruin the story for others. I did enjoy the story.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: ****1/2
One of those incredibly emotional books that leave me in a teary puddle when I come to "The End." I took heart in the final sentence.

Owen Garret has joined my pantheon of heroes to remember.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite novel of Jo-Ann's. Was made into a TV movie.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

disappointing

[Michele]

A woman leaves LA and moves to New Mexico to start a new life after her marriage breaks up and her son becomes deaf (through illness). She meets Owen, a rancher, and falls in love.

[Carrie77444 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. Simple story easy read.

[Susan]

Essex Library Book Sale 6/1/10

[Sally Boots · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo-Ann Mapson novels are perfect girlfriend-summer-indulgence reading.