The Lumby Lines

I can't figure out where to start, I LOVED this book. The style was different but the same, the story was light-hearted but serious, the characters were ones you want to kick in the butt and give a big hug.

This is the story of Pam and Mark who decide to chuck it all and buy the burned out monastery in Lumby and convert it to an Inn. But along the way we meet the architect friend of Pam who is also taken with Lumby, the monks that had abandoned the monastery, and the residents of the town - There are resentful codgers who don't want the Monastery restored, a 90+ year old woman who is getting a prenuptial agreement for her 4th marriage, a plastic flamingo (Hank) who dresses for the seasons, and rambunctious teenagers that get into show more trouble. Then you have a dog for the mayor, cows that wander into a hidden marijuana field and eat it all, goats in a bank vault eating money, and chickens that escape from their crates and are hidden from recapture by heaven knows who.

Then there are the Police blotter entries with all the day to day happenings of the inhabitants as well as the newspaper articles telling of the town happenings. It amazed me how many times the windows in the church were shot out at the same time as a neighbor was scaring off deer and moose with a gun - do you think they may have been related?

Can you understand just a little why I loved this book? I can't wait to read the next installment - I think I have to go to the bookstore this weekend to find it. show less

I'm about three years late making my first visit to Lumby, but that turns out to be a good thing because this is a series and I can dive right in and devour them all! I loved it! Gail Fraser gives us a picturesque town, wonderful quirky characters, little mysteries here and there, and Hank! Any book with a moose running around town with a bicycle stuck on it's antlers, and a cow who, unfortunately, wanders into a marijuana patch gets my vote! I had many a good laugh. Lumby is a place in your heart. If you liked Jan Karon's Mitford series, you will like Gail Fraser's Lumby!

I found The Lumby Lines to be an incredibly enjoyable story. The characters were interesting and often quirky. Although I only learned bits and pieces of some of their stories in this book, I can tell there is much more to discover. I really enjoyed how Fraser wove in the description of the town, the sections of the newspaper, and the background on the characters right along with the main plot of restoring Montis Abbey. Although it took me a little time to get used to the jumps between these ideas at the beginning of the book, once the story really took off things smoothed out. The newspaper sections often added a bit of humor when the main characters were having a rough go of it. The Lumby Lines was a quick, light read for me and I am show more really looking forward to continuing with the other books in the series and learning more about the residents and history of Lumby.

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Six-word review: Weak but pleasantly diverting light fiction.

Extended review:

It has bright, cheery paintings of the town and the surrounding countryside, done by the author's husband, paintings that enhance the sense of place and mood. It has recipes in the back, attributed to the fictitious inn, abbey, and restaurant that figure in the story. Maybe best of all, it has, after the conclusion of the story, a transcription of an informal conversation among the author and her characters, wherein they casually interview one another and compare notes like old friends.

How could anyone fail to be charmed by this book?

Maybe I simply expect too much.

The story itself has pleasing characters, a choice variety of them, and interesting dynamics among show more several. There's an authentic-feeling small-town flavor and plenty of local color. There are problems to be solved and mysteries to be revealed. There are also cliffhangers and unanswered questions that set the hook for a sequel.

What's missing, for me, is not just some actual drama and suspense, which I suppose we don't expect in this genre. It's craftsmanship, polish. It's what I look for in any genre and has nothing to do with style. It's not seeing lines like "the rest of the visit was quite enjoyable" or reading a protracted scene in which a series of characters are introduced to one another and exchanging commonplace small talk in greeting. It's not strained humor such as of a stoned cow with a couple of upset stomachs, resulting in crude sensory gags that really aren't very funny if you care about the characters, or very interesting if you don't. It's a clearer story arc that doesn't wobble quite so much and an ending that leaves a little less up in the air.

In short, The Lumby Lines feels very much like a beginner's novel, which it is. Pardon me for running this theme so often, but as a professional editor I can't help it: what it really needs is a good shaking and dusting and a little judicious scrubbing to bring out the best and let some of the rest go.

In time I may come round to the next in the series; I see there are five to date, the last published in 2010. I'm not in a hurry for another one, but it's sort of nice to know it's there. show less

Mark and Pam Walker are vacationing in the Northwest, discussing where they want to go next in life. Mark's ready to retire from the corporate world; Pam's not so sure. Then, the couple comes across a monastery that was shut down and damaged in a fire. They decide to move from Virginia to the small town of Lumby to renovate the monastery and turn it into an inn.

This is a gentle read focusing on character - and there are some quirky ones at that! I found it pleasant and entertaining, especially enjoying the details of renovation. Descriptions of Hank, the flamingo that's given an appropriate wardrobe for what's going on at various points in the story, and news clippings from the local paper, the eponymous Lumby Lines infuse the narrative show more with humor. show less

Great cozy story of a town, sort of a Three Pines meets Mitford without the mystery story plots, murders, or detectives. Just ordinary people, living ordinary lives, dealing with the everyday emotions and dreams of everyman. Well.....not exactly. How many of us have the bazillions of dollars to drop what we're doing, move cross country and buy and restore a burned down monastery, orchard, and all the assortment of out buildings that go with it? How many of us have our own architect we can persuade to leave it all and come with us? How many of us have mud (or other detritis) that turns to roses no matter what? While the issues faced by these everyday people "from away" seem anything but everyday, the townspeople are genuine, and it is show more they who give the story its charm. It's humorous, fun, warm and fuzzy and has lots of room to grow since this appears to be the first of a series. If you live in a small town, you will recognize the setting, the people, the problems. If you don't, you can dream that this is the place you'd want to live if you had your druthers. Perfectly charming, easily readable. show less

Mark and Pam Walker are visiting the small town of Lumby when they stumble upon Montis Abbey, an abandoned monastery that was devastated by fire. They are somewhat dissatisfied with their life back on the East Coast and decide to renovate Montis and open a bed-and-breakfast. But opening a business in a small town also means overcoming the townspeople's concerns about outsiders. As Mark and Pam struggle to gain acceptance and make their dream a reality, we come to know the people of Lumby and learn some secrets about past events at Montis.

I love books about small towns, but only when the author captures the essence of the town. I grew up outside a small town of about 300. I currently live in a town of just over 2000 people. I'm fairly show more impatient with books that stereotype small towns. But I think Fraser's portrayal of Lumby is dead on. I especially like the clips from Lumby's newspaper, the Lumby Lines.

I also love books about people who are doing something new and pursuing their "good life." Mark and Pam's decision to quit their jobs on the East Coast and move to Lumby seemed a bit hasty to me, but I love the description of the work that they do to renovate Montis Inn. This part of the story was very compelling to me.

I also love books where I truly care about the characters. The Lumby Lines got off to a bit of a slow start for me in this regard. All of the characters seemed a bit guarded to me. It was probably Mark that I warmed up to first, but by about halfway through the book, I cared about a number of the characters. I'm excited to see them develop in future books in this series.

Overall, I'm thrilled that I had the chance to visit Lumby. This was a great summer read for me! show less