Still True---Maggie Ginsberg

 

I can't remember when I last read a book that I hated to put down;  I wanted to see what the characters were going to do next.   Still True was a page-turner for me, even though I thought it had a kinda slow start.

In small-town Wisconsin, Lib and Jack have been happily married for 35 years, even though they live in houses separated by about two miles.   Lib's life gets over-turned when her 40-plus son, whom she abandoned soon after his birth, shows up in her yard.   In all her years with Jack, she has never told him about her first marriage, and especially, about this son.

Another couple is new in the small town of Anthem, and wife and mother Claire is having trouble adjusting.   Jack helps her young son Charlie solve a problem with his bike, and through that friendship, the two families become entwined.

I could not have predicted the plot twists which kept me reading, along with the empathy for all (most) of the characters.

The author was born in MInnesota and now lives in Madison WI, where the book was published by University of Wisconsin Press.   After you have read Still True, you may find some interesting similarities between the plot and the author's background.

 

“The unsettling, slow burning, deeply pleasurable story of Lib Hanson, a fiercely independent woman  . . . Throughout Still True, Ginsberg’s prose is both precise and lush, and she is brilliant at depicting the million tiny gestures and private moments that spring up between people. To be honest, it’s hard to believe that Still True—gutsy, bold, and achingly beautiful—is her first novel.”—Laura Anne Bird, Readers Lane

“Still True feels as intimate as eavesdropping, with characters so well drawn and so believable there is a sense that they are in the room with you as you read about their sometimes turbulent, sometimes mild lives.”—Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Little Faith

 

Comments

[Maggie Ginsberg]

Hello! I hope it's not too intrusive for me to comment here, but Google Alerts just let me know about this lovely review. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to read my book and I'm so pleased it resonated with you. Thank you especially for caring about books so much that you've created this blog, I see a lot of great choices here and I appreciate your care. Happy reading!