NORMAN MACLEAN
Author: Rebecca McCarthy
Call number: 813.54 M (Roseville Public Library)
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: July 17, 2026
I first became acquainted with the writing of Norman Maclean in 1993 when unusual all-day rainstorms kept me home from my summer job working at a local public golf course. I had bought a copy of his debut story collection entitled A River Runs Through It and Other Stories earlier that year at a bookstore in Kalamazoo (my hometown) but had not had a chance to read it yet because of the time and energy that it took to get through my first year of teaching secondary English in a public school. I quickly became entranced by Maclean’s poetic writing style and finished the novella that very afternoon as the rain pounded outside of my apartment. Somehow, I did not see the tragic ending coming, and it hit me hard. Soon after, I saw the movie adaptation directed by Robert Redford (which also starred an inexperienced actor named Brad Pitt) and I got hit again. For many years, I showed the movie to my high school classes as a result.
Since A River Runs Through It is loosely based on Maclean’s life, I got some insight into the man, and the other stories in his debut work also feature young Norman prominently. In addition, his critically acclaimed work Young Men and Fire (which I tried for years to teach to my high school students—mostly unsuccessfully) gives clues about Maclean’s life. Because he started his
professional writing career relatively late (he was 73 in 1976 when first published commercially), I was able to read nearly all of his writing without too much trouble, but until I read Rebecca McCarthy’s biography of the now legendary writer, I didn’t really know too much about the man.
McCarthy was a student of Professor Maclean’s at the University of Chicago many decades ago during the tumultuous late 60’s and early 70’s. She was also his walking companion, confidante, and friend at a time soon after he had lost his beloved wife, Jessie. He was also becoming less interested in teaching and more interested in working on his own writing, especially during his summer breaks that he usually spent in a rustic cabin on Seeley Lake in northwest Montana.
Among the many things that I learned about Maclean from McCarthy’s detailed biography were his general disdain for his alma mater (Dartmouth), his devotion to walking in all kinds of weather around the south side of Chicago, his important role on the University of Chicago campus during WWII, and his quixotic attempts to save his younger brother Paul from his gambling and drinking.
I applaud McCarthy for showing many sides of her professor—not just the endearing ones. Mr. Maclean had a remarkable talent for belittling her and other students at times, for example. He also could be obsessive about his various writing projects, which explained to me why he had so few of them that were finished. However, after reading this portrait of him, it inspired me because like every other retired English teacher, I think that there may be a book in me, too.
YOU LIKE IT DARKER
Author: Stephen King
Call number: FIC KIN
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: July 17, 2026
Ever since I devoured his book On Writing about twenty years ago, I’ve read much of Stephen King’s extensive catalog. In that book, published in 2000, King indicated that he was a little fearful that his best writing was in the past, and that he wouldn’t know when it was time to quit writing altogether. The short story collection You Like it Darker is proof that his fears of “drying
up” as a writer have gone completely unfounded.
This short story collection showcases King’s versatility impeccably. For example, three of his longer pieces are in many ways more mystery/true crime/detective story than the horror genre that he was initially known for. In “The Talented Bastids”, a retired school superintendent (how often do you see one of those as the protagonist?) tries to understand the success of his famous writer father and one of his best friends, who is a world-renowned artist. “Rattlesnakes” is a continuation of King’s iconic Cujo novel, and while it does have an element of the supernatural, at its core is a hard boiled who-dunit. And “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”,
a novella that is 152 pages where arguably the most developed character is an obsessive- compulsive state police detective has as much suspense and realistic dialogue as most novels three or four times the volume.
Two other intriguing aspects of this collection are the respective advanced ages of many of his main characters and how King is clearly inspired by either his prior work, or the work of other writers who have impacted him. In short, he features characters who are well into retirement age, and they all have some physical and mental limitations that many middle-aged and older folks can relate to. But he also focuses on the respective strengths that maturity can have as well. For example, in “On Slide Inn Road”, an homage to Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the elderly family member has his wits and strength about him far more than his
younger companions do in a very dangerous situation.
I almost did not pick this collection up because I thought that maybe my time would be better spent reading a yet undiscovered (by me) author. However, King showed me that he has not lost a step—in fact, his storytelling skills may be getting even more honed. A big part of this is an unwavering desire to simply share stories. As he relates in the epilogue: “I have done what was given to me to do, and mostly it’s been a joy to me”.
THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US
Author: Brian Goldstone
Call number: 362.5 GOL
Reviewer: Andy Jackson
Date: June 18, 2026
There are many misconceptions about the homeless population in America, but Brian Goldstone eviscerates at least three of them in the aptly titled There is No Place for Us. The first, that most people are homeless because of a poor work ethic, is clearly shown not to be true through the profiles of five single mothers in Atlanta, Georgia. All five work multiple jobs to ensure decent housing for their families but inevitably fail to do so for a variety of reasons. The second misconception, that most people are homeless because of addiction to drugs and alcohol does have some validity, but again this was not a primary (or even a secondary) factor with the families that Goldstone profiled. The third misconception, that most people are homeless because they choose to be so, is highly unlikely once the experiences of the families profiled are revealed in detail. No sane person would choose this life—and technically, the families do not even fit the legal definition of “homeless”.
The families that Goldstone reported on had a combination of less-than-ideal family histories, unlucky circumstances, a system stacked against them, and yes, the occasional bad choice. In the cases of these families, however, the poor decisions usually had more immediate and long-lasting consequences than the rest of the population.
As Goldstone points out at the end, there simply is not enough affordable housing in this country (especially in urban areas), and the women he writes about use all their time and financial resources to secure a safe home. In some cases, these homes (usually small apartments) are subsidized by the local, state, or federal government. In most cases, however, the demand for subsidies greatly surpasses the supply. One woman named Britt would go to great lengths to hold onto their dwellings as a result. Ultimately, she secured a car loan that surpassed 26% (today’s rate is closer to 5—with good credit) because she had ruined her credit through circumstances that were partly her fault and partly not. Goldstone illustrates how people in Britt’s situation have few choices to finance a car (which is necessary for her to work), and there is a whole industry out there eager to take advantage of it.
And aside from how the children in the families shown suffer, the most disturbing part of the book was how the homeless problem in the U.S. is mostly an institutionally self-inflicted one. No matter how well-intentioned different assistance programs have been, until the government at all levels takes control and builds a substantial amount of low-income and high-quality housing, circumstances are unlikely to change. And many in fields such as real estate and finance would prefer to keep it this way. Goldstone’s stirring account of the working poor is a perfect example of how the composition teacher’s advice of “show, don’t tell” is highly effective.
POMONA AFTON CAN SO SOLVE A MURDER
Author: Bellamy Rose
Narrator: Jennifer Jill Araya
Call #: CD-FIC ROS
Reviewer: Sonja Downey
Date: June 4, 2026
Pomona Afton loves her Upper East Side hotel heiress life. And what’s not to love, a penthouse, a gala to go to almost every night. Life is good…until Pomona stumbles upon her grandmother dead body. That fact alone would not be so very horrible as she was not the cuddly, kind sort of grandmother. However, the part in her testament that should she not die of a natural death, all her assets would be instantly frozen, proved to be a real tragedy.
Even though Pom tries very hard to make grandma’s death look very natural (but how do you explain away all the blood?) it does not stick with the police. So what is a destitute, down-on-her-luck heiress to do but to roll up her designer sleeves and solve the murder herself – with the little help of a friend, that is, which is Gabe, her former nanny’s son.
This was an entertaining semi-cozy mystery/romance. I enjoyed the story as it worked out very well with Pomona starting out as an entitled heiress but in the course of the book and the investigation turning into a very likable character.
Jennifer Jill Araya’s voice talent is a great fit for this story. She reads Pomona with a naive entitlement which makes the character cute and likable. I enjoyed this murder mystery very much all the way to the astonishing end. I am looking forward to listen to the next installment in this series titled Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer.
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