River Angel

Once again, A Manette Ansay has written about small town life in Wisconsin in her lovely, lyrical style. She brings her characters to life with grace, allowing you to see them with all their shortcomings, the hopes and dreams that sustain them, all the details that make them unique, yet as familiar as people you might know. A tragedy, a drowning, polarizes the townspeople, those who believe in miracles and those who only accept hard facts. Yet the circumstances surrounding the event cannot logically be explained. How is it then, that redemption is possible? What forces are in charge here? A small town story that is simple, yet simply mesmerizing!

This was one of the those books I picked up reluctantly, but once I got into it, I just loved it. Maybe being a Midwesterner and a small-town girl gave me a greater appreciation for this book, but I thought it was wonderful and the characters reminded me of people I know. The story centers around Gabriel, an unlovable boy who is abandoned by his father at this aunt and uncle's house in rural Wisconsin on Christmas. He believes his father's tale about the "river angel" and spends all of his time trying to find the angel. One night, he is harrassed by some high school kids at the river bridge and Gabriel vanishes, only to turn up the next morning in a local barn under unusual circumstances.

In the fictional town of Ambient is a tight-knit community. You will get to know Shawn and his son, Gabriel. Shawn's brother, Fred, wins the prize of caring for Gabriel after Shawn skips town, leaving the chubby ten year old behind. Gabriel's personality is restricted to the fervor of religion and the preoccupation with food. Fred's wife, Bethany, is less than thrilled to have another male in the house. She has enough on her hands with her husband's father, Alfred, and own two boys, Pete and Robert John from different fathers.
Then there is Lorna Pranke, the police chief's wife. Joe Kimmeldorf, the Mader family: Ruthie, Cherish and Gwendolyn. Father Oblerling, Mr. Shuckel, John Grosshuesch, Maya Paluski, Marty, and Anna Grey Graf and show more Anna's husband Bill and daughter Milly.
Ambient is an unsightly rundown town that is unashamed to bare its dirty knickers. But at the heart of is charm is an old legend about a river angel. A boy, supposedly drowned in a river ends up in a barn, looking like a sleeping angel. Anday admits River Angel is more about the community than the legend. show less

Life in rural America can be very hard indeed as Ansay chronicles yet again in this novel. Ansay offers a hope of sorts through the death of a young child and the perhaps miraculous events surrounding this death.

Slow and a little pointless. Not much of a plot.