Suzanne Strempek Shea

January, I've decided, is not a month for deep, heavy reading. I got a much-anticipated mystery for Christmas and found it slow going (though ultimately satisfying) and I began A Coffin for Dimitrios| and have put it aside till February 1st. Instead, I'm picking up various works of lighter fiction and non-fiction -- mostly what's called "Domestic Fiction," with female protagonists. I'm also on a Library Fast in order to get some of my already-acquired books read. I'd picked up Suzanne show more Strempek Shea's novel because I enjoyed her memoir of visiting a different church each week for a year, and I wasn't disappointed. Shea writes fiction as well as she does non-fiction. The eponymous Lily Wilk, resident of one of the small, heavily Polish-American towns in western Massachusetts, is 39, recently divorced (she seems to miss her stepson more than her husband), and has known since her tenth birthday that she is an artist. She indeed makes her living with her art -- chiefly by painting signs, a mural for the funeral home, store decorations -- anything wanted. Occasionally she sells one of her real paintings. Lily's life begins to change when the local grocery magnate and philanthropist commissions a very special painting. Surprises are in store, and Lily looks into both her past and the philanthropist's, learning much along the way. This is a novel rich with characters, with an ending neither too tidy nor too inconclusive. I liked it a lot and will be seeking out Shea's other writing. show less

Suzanne Strempek Shea is a completely under-rated writer who captures the ethnic, religious, and social bindings of working-class New England with grace, humor, and authenticity. I've enjoyed all of her stories and if you grew up in the 1970s in a Polish/Irish/Italian/... family, chances are you will too.

Compared to Selling the Lite of Heaven, Hoopi Shoopi Donna is a darker, more distraught story that reveals the secretive and dysfunctional underside of those close-knit familial show more neighborhoods. Donna's the underdog here, and while there are times you want to throw up your hands in exasperation at her stubbornness, you can't help but cheer her on to the very end. show less

Becoming Finola
by Suzanne Strempek Shea

This was a slow starter for me, taking nearly 100 pages before it grabbed me. But then it really struck a chord with me and I didn't want it to end. I found the the style of writing was beautiful in a way that's hard to describe. I'm not sure if this will capture my meaning, but this is one phrase that caught my attention:

She'd been studying the village so intensely, but just beyond that lay an entire ocean--bigger than the world, it seemed, and show more certainly more than large enough to bear all she was seeking. Anticipating her arrival, it had dressed for the occasion, dark midnight-sapphiry-purplish and tinsels of disco ball sparkles as it pitched forward a serious succession of surf-movie-sized breakers.

Yes, that's a mouthful, but the imagery created is really spectacular. Another factor that I really enjoyed was that this took place right after 9/11, and the MC was the same age as I would have been then. The world created in this story accurately captures the state of the world--politically and culturally--at that time, especially for someone (like me) who would have the same memories. I'm talking about random tidbits of glimpses into the time, i.e. references to "email machines" at the local B&B, the telephones tucked into seat backs on airplanes, smoking gazebos at hospitals, the fact that the tourism industry really suffered because people were afraid to travel, one-liners about Sinead being a "bald, angry Pope ripper", tourists wearing red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirts and T-shirts bearing the words "Never Forget", a wedding gown compared to "a lacy 80s prom dress with the 'Gunne Sax' label", people watching episodes of "Sex and the City" and "Jackass" on MTV.

The plot itself had enough twists to keep it interesting. Sophie White travels to a small seaside village (pop. 400+) in Ireland, called "Booley" (from the original Celtic "Buaille") with her friend, Gina. Gina is going through a life crisis after losing her husband to a car accident, her rebellious 18yo daughter to abandonment, and her job to a factory closure. Sophie has devoted 18 months to keeping Gina organized and sane, working as her personal assistant, but mainly helping her through her grief. Gina decides to spend the summer in this little Irish hamlet and pays the way for Sophie to travel with her from Massachusetts.

The day after their arrival, Gina decides to turn around and go back home. She wants to be alone, however, and requests that Sophie stay on in Ireland for the summer. Sophie feels betrayed and abandoned by her friend, but agrees and soon becomes a fixture in the little town. The friendships she makes eventually help Sophie get through her own personal tragedy as she finds out a truth about her fiance back home.

Sophie is coerced into helping out at a little bead/jewelry-making shop when she shows a natural talent for organization and marketing. The jewelry making, as well as the gentle company of its owner, Liam Keegan, become a kind of therapy, and she learns to embrace and enjoy the quiet life Booley offers her. Because tourists want to buy jewelry directly from the "Irish" local making it and it hurt sales when she said she was in reality from America, Sophie begins to take on the name and persona of the woman who originally owned the shop, Finola O'Flynn.

Finola is constantly talked about and grieved over, and Sophie begins to feel like she knows her after hearing stories of her exploits and how she helped so many people during the time she lived in town. Finola, someone who three years prior had suddenly abandoned the town, her job, her little cottage, and the residents--including her boyfriend, Liam Keegan, has become legend to the local Booleyans. Sophie finds her feet and her own success while using the mythical Finola as her talisman, i.e. "What Would Finola Do?" to help her decide how to live her life--including falling in love with Liam.

Her newfound peace gets shaken up, however, when the real Finola returns. show less

3.5 trending toward 4. What happens when an author goes to work in a bookstore? She makes a beautiful, noticeable display of her own books, to start with. Suzanne Shea's nonfiction account of a year at Edwards Bookstore, an indie mecca in Springfield, MA is both touching and interesting and speaks to the power of a bookstore to both bolster a community and foster community. She calls a bookstore a place that sells "ideas, stories, encouragement, answers, solace, validation, the basic show more ammunition for daily life." Suzanne has her own personal reasons to take off a year of writing -- she is recovering from cancer -- and when her friend, Janet, Edwards proprietor, calls with a job offer this seems like another angle on healing. The year's passing is indicated through store displays that highlight the holidays and also measure Suzanne's growth and progress. Reclusive at first, she soon embraces the bookstore "family" of employees and regular shoppers -- some who come in daily for their newspapers and other simple pleasures that emphasize how vital a good bookstore can be in a neighborhood. Suzanne brings some innovative ideas that help boost sales -- she is kind of a guru, having been in hundreds of bookstores for signings and readings(shout out to Women and Children First in Chicago, and Barbara's Bookstore in Oak Park) -- and the place is transformed, and so reciprocally is she. This happens to be 2001, so the 9/11 attacks are particularly poignant with the heavy death toll intersecting with her own recovery arc. "....change is the only guaranteed story element." (220) she acknowledges. Because Shea is a thorough writer, there is some extraneous detail here about how to conduct inventory, order books, unpack them, etc which feels like minutiae better left to the actual worker than just the wanna-be reader -- like learning how sausage gets made-- better to not know. An entertaining read about a mutually beneficial relationship. show less