By D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer for Midwest Book Review:
The story is set in Rhode Island, where Etta's fishing ground is located in the remote southeastern corner of Providence County, bordering Connecticut. It captures the atmosphere of the small town of Foster, which has a history of low crime and Klan rallies. Nothing much ever changes there—but nothing stays the same forever.
Obie's wife's best friend Etta is a real catch. And he should know since he's a stickler for details—as a former police officer used to documenting facts.
As Obie, wife Muriel, and others navigate the changes in their lives in later years, shattered psyches and discordant notes introduce new perspectives, challenges, and events.
Etta's "pageant-perfected poise" leads her to offer uncommon advice to Muriel as humor, revised purposes and lives, and small town dilemmas enter into the picture.
Eva Pasco is adept at capturing these scenarios with an astute eye to detail: "Etta stepped aside for Muriel to cross the threshold into the great room and forge on ahead to the kitchen while she shut the door behind them, closing them in for a kill. Preoccupied with unzipping the carrier she set on the counter, and removing an object of pretension, Muriel found her tongue.
“Thought you and Keith might enjoy my cheesy sausage-and-croissant casserole for tomorrow’s breakfast.” Any footing she thought she’d regained for striking up a conversation on the subject of Keith slipped away."
As legal and criminal proceedings enter the small town's relationships picture to further entangle its residents, Pascoe provides a compelling portrait of gambles, absurdity, and irony that embrace the town's residents with an overlay of unsolved murder and muddled feelings.
Pasco's background as a lifelong native Rhode Islander enhances a story that captures community interactions, culture, and a specific sense of place.
As murder, sexual contention, looming divorce and the promise of a fishing hole refuge coalesce, readers should break out the cheesy sausage-and-croissant casserole and settle in for a warm romp through Foster that leads to Etta's fishing ground's real impact and meaning.
'Etta's Fishing Ground' proves a delightful novel of small-but-growing town pains that keeps readers involved in a myriad of disparate, delightful lives and motivations. It is highly recommended for any collection where novels about simmering love and hate reside alongside small town trappings of family, connection, and angst.
|
Share
Save
