Laury A. EganRecensioni

Appreciate this Ebook which is very different and layered than most of this genre. The addition of opera, composing and a home by the sea in Maine is a very welcome addition which completes the atmosphere.

This peace delivers an enthralling psychogram of a highly talented composer working on her first opera.
Both Leslie's parents had bisexual affairs. Working on her first masterpiece means coming to terms with the past for her. As a theme of her opera, she chooses a fling between the writers Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.
While drafting her notes in a guest house in Maine, her own bisexuality is tested, her patron has a mysterious bisexual background, and the handyman is acting stranger and stranger.
Art and life are melting together here. A bit boring in the beginning the book turns out to be a pageturner!

(Mild spoilers)
I found the premise of this book really interesting - a composer working on an opera about three famous literary women who are thought to have had relationships with one another, a large lonely house in the middle of nowhere, a bit of drama and crime dashed in.
The execution of the premise was just okay though. It was fun trying to guess along with our main character what everyone else's motivations and true back story were. The little tidbits about the opera she was working on and the lives of the women featured in it were really fun, especially as a fan of Virginia Woolf. The climax of the book was quite thrilling and took some twists and turns that I had not at all expected. It was also quite interesting to see 1990s (and older) attitudes about LGBTQ people through the lens of someone writing in the 2022.
I felt like there was a lot repetition of the same points over and over with no real value added (the house is giving the main character the creeps but she's not sure why; she once saw her mother in the throws of passion with another woman...). It was also a lot of just stating how the main character felt without actually bringing us inside her head to find out why. What about the house makes her feel so uneasy? What is it about her romantic life that she finds so vexing? I felt incredibly disconnected from her the entire book, even though it was told in first person narration.

In The Swimmer we encounter Bess Lynch, a sixty-something psychotherapist, as she retreats to a cabin on Cape Cod, trying to disengage from the presences crowding her life. Her practice already handed off, she needs to make some important decisions about family, her will, and particularly her marriage. She’s on borrowed time. She has already survived much longer than a patient with Stage IV pancreatic cancer can normally expect.

As determined as Bess is to follow her plan, she’s caught up when a stunningly attractive man disrupts her solitude and proves a delightful - and desirable - distraction. As if that weren’t enough, her troubled and unreliable son crashes this groupe de deux with a surprise visit. The shock of this unannounced intrusion releases some pent-up acrimony and recrimination between mother and son. Stephen, the mysterious and handsome stranger stays (mostly) on the sideline as some long-stagnant air is cleared between Bess and her son.

The mystery of Stephen only deepens as Bess’s condition takes a sudden and nasty turn. He has knowledge of symptoms and conditions in extremis that is only vaguely explained. His solicitousness never flags, however; he is always there for Bess, doing his best to relieve her pain and her fears.

Laury Egan has delivered a touching and well-rounded performance. First, I must honor her for the skill and sharp professionalism with which she portrays her heroine. With a long career as a counselor, Bess’s observations are all expressed in terms which would be used by such a professional. She deals with two men in her lonely vigil, Stephen and her son, and she observes and interacts with them as would a doctor of psychology.

Additionally, Egan challenges herself to render a plot featuring very difficult subjects; requiring technical and emotional mastery. This is very accomplished work, of a deceptively difficult kind, and Laury Egan makes it look easy. The pacing, the exactitude of emotional tenor, and the mystery at its heart, all recommend this author, and this book very highly. Sterling work!

Charlie is a backwoods kind of girl with a grandfather who is not only a minister but also spends his spare time making hooch in his own still. She lives with grandpa because both of her parents are gone since her father is a terrible drunk and her mother is slowly loosing her sanity. Though Charlie excels in school she just can't shake the stigma surrounding her family.

Charlie desperately wants to fit in but it seems no matter what she does, it all works against her. Then her life suddenly changes one day and she has to fend for herself. But Charlie is a resourceful girl and even when a stranger shows up on her door, she still manages to hang on to her home; if only she can hold on to her dreams.

I had a hard time with this book because though I had empathy for Charlie, I couldn't help but notice she created a lot of her own problems. I know she is naive in the ways of the world but some of the situations she finds herself could have been avoided if she really wanted. I also had a hard time placing the time frame which the story took place. I discovered the story took place in the 60's which is mentioned later in the book when reference is made to Charlie's birthday. Though this book is listed as a YA read, I would have a hard time finding a particular audience this would appeal to.

The book was okay to read. I had a difficult time connecting to the main character. She just let everyone use her, whether she realized it or not. I found it to be a more unique story, well written in most places. I didn't really
Ike the ending.

This was an intriguing story line, but also frustrating to read. It's written for a young adult audience and as a teacher and mother I do have concerns with the vulnerability of the main character. I find her confusion with her emotions to be very realistic, but I felt the attraction between her and the older gentleman that comes into the story to take full advantage of the "family business" to be a little forced and disturbing. The main character starts off as a very confident, no-nonsense girl, and through her loneliness is easily brain washed from time to time to get suckered into the ways of the older flirtatious male character. Yes, this happens in real life, but it wasn't any less creepier to read.

Charlie is a backwoods kind of girl with a grandfather who is not only a minister but also spends his spare time making hooch in his own still. She lives with grandpa because both of her parents are gone since her father is a terrible drunk and her mother is slowly loosing her sanity. Though Charlie excels in school she just can't shake the stigma surrounding her family.
Charlie desperately wants to fit in but it seems no matter what she does, it all works against her. Then her life suddenly changes one day and she has to fend for herself. But Charlie is a resourceful girl and even when a stranger shows up on her door, she still manages to hang on to her home; if only she can hold on to her dreams.
I had a hard time with this book because though I had empathy for Charlie, I couldn't help but notice she created a lot of her own problems. I know she is naive in the ways of the world but some of the situations she finds herself could have been avoided if she really wanted. I also had a hard time placing the time frame which the story took place. I discovered the story took place in the 60's which is mentioned later in the book when reference is made to Charlie's birthday. Though this book is listed as a YA read, I would have a hard time finding a particular audience this would appeal to.

This literary young adult novel is more focused on character than plot. We see Charlie develop as a person as she tries to find herself in between all the scheming of those around her, as well as her own scheming in order to both fit in and survive. She's a fourteen year old girl, who has to grow up far too quickly and Laury A. Egan does a fantastic job giving Charlie a voice. I could almost hear her speaking to me. Charlie and all the characters feel vivid and alive.

The writing is clean, precise, and image strong without being unnecessary flowery. Great book.

I liked the spunky protagonist, even though she resorts to some pretty shady deals to survive.

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Set in the late 1950s Charlene Whitesone, better known as Charlie, is the illigetimate child of an abusive father and a crazy mother. When her parents suddenly leave the only person left to take care of her is her Grandpa, C. B. But C. B. is not just like any old grandpa-he's a con-artist and a good one at that! Charlie gladly aids her grandfather in his clever plans to make money off the gullible people of Buztown.

However, throughout the story Charlie begins to have her doubts. She feels a criminal record will not help her obtain her dream of being a writer. But when she admits these feelings to herself and then to her granpa something terrible happens and Charlie is left all alone. But when a mysterious cowboy appears at her door claiming to be her mom's bou she lets him in and he brings her deeper in the rabbit hole. Once again she finds herself living a life of deceit.

Pros: The book exceeded my expectations and me want to keep turning pages

Cons: Charlie's feelings towards the cowboy seem unrealistic and like the book tells us, taboo.

The Outcast Oracle was a fast-paced, engaging read. I enjoyed the author’s writing style, vocabulary words, and imagination. Her overall storytelling was great. I enjoyed all of the characters and the schemes they involved themselves in. I also like how Charlene’s conscience got the best of her throughout the story. This book led to me to think about my opinion regarding religion and the weakness of our human nature. I was surprised by the ending of the story and appreciate that the author added an element of surprise to the story. I thought it was a great read!½

Charlene Whitestone, wise beyond her 14 years, has been deserted by her mentally ill mother and alcoholic father...but, left in the care of her grandfather, C.B. whom she adores. C.B., however, is a very adept and capable con-man, religious fraud, and a mild-mannered alcoholic who imbibes on his very own profitable moonshine and Chivas Regal. Together, C.B. and Charlene coax money out of the pockets of poor country folk who listen to C.B. preach each Sunday morning at The Glory Alleluia Chapel and during the week the townspeople stop by The Hooch Shop to buy grandpa's moonshine. While Charlene knows that C.B.'s health is not the best and see hims fail a little bit more each day, she is devastated when he dies one day. Left alone in the world, Charlene fabricates lies to fend off orphanages and child welfare services.

In the not-too-distant future, a slick talking, jaw-dropping gorgeous, thirty-something stranger in the name of Blake Cody shows up on her doorstep claiming to be a friend of her mother. Charlene is skeptical, but anxious for information about her mother's where-abouts. Blake is slick and knows all the answers, yet Charlene is on to his game. She knows he's heard about all the money stashed around the house and the wild, fraudulent schemes that grandpa has concocted. Little-by-little, Blake talks Charlene into expanding the church services with their combined gift for trickery and deceit and Charlene's gift for writing eloquent sermons. The illusions and 'miracles' go viral, so to speak, and Blake and Charlene are unlikely celebrities. Charlene, however, is full of guilt and tries to back away from the ever-mounting lies. That's when Charlene's violent father shows up...and life spirals completely out of control.

The Outcast Oracle is a captivating read, one filled with outlandish characters, who at the outward appearance are liars and tricksters, yet we care about them in an awkward way. Charlene, is oh-so-very-young, but is intelligent and savvy. Her teenage voice is spot-on. The writing is crisp and concrete...no holds barred. In one moment you want to hug her and slap her...typical of emotions when teenagers are involved. I loved the book, the characters (although I hated them, too), and the convoluted story.

Thank you to LibraryThing, Humanist Press, and Laury A. Egan for this ARC.½

Charlene Whitestone has grown up in a small farming town in New York, not far from Lake Ontario. The community is fairly rural, and poor, and the Whitestone family takes advantage of that from their large property on the outskirts. Charlie's grandfather C.B. earns a living by several scams as well as straight business ventures - there's the moonshine one, the church they run out of the house, preserves made from things grown on the farm, and they rent out parcels of land to others to farm. Plus there's a few more outright illegal ones. C.B. can't do it all alone, though, and he's taught Charlie to keep the books and otherwise help out.

And her parents? Charlie's dad is an abusive alcoholic, absolutely no good, and her mama is presumably bipolar and definitely unmedicated. Actually, they're probably all alcoholics - Charlie herself likes taking a nip of the Chivas Regal or even some of the corn whiskey in the morning before school, or before church services, or while cooking dinner, and if she isn't there yet, she's likely on the path to it.

When The Outcast Oracle opens, Charlie's parents have disappeared again, but for longer than usual. C.B. is starting to act worn out and has been slowly getting Charlie ready to take over all of his businesses. Charlie is fourteen and lonely, without any friends at school, where she is a year younger than her classmates, and now only Grandpa C.B. at home.

I found Egan's writing to be wonderfully evocative. Charlie really came alive to me in her first-person narrative, and so did her community and family. It's just a little thing, and maybe not so lovely out of context, but when describing the moonshine business early in the first chapter, she explains why the ledger sometimes takes until the first of the month to tally properly: "Some of his customers run short of cash when they forget to earn a living because they enjoy the moonshine too much." I love how much she says there, about the business, about the customers, about the community.

Throughout the book, there are signs that things are going to come crashing down on Charlie - Grandpa C.B. isn't doing too well, there's no sign of her parents returning, the sheriff is breathing down their necks about the hooch shop (of which he has no proof), and Grandpa C.B. is getting into shadier and more illegal dealings. It's no surprise that Grandpa dies (it's even on the back cover), but when it happens was a bit shocking to me, as I expected it almost every page. And then what happens after had me worrying again and again for Charlie and her safety. It was a relief when I got to the end of the book, and a temporary hope for her, even if there are no guarantees.

I loved reading The Outcast Oracle and am very grateful that I was selected to receive it as part of the Early Reviewers program. If this is the quality of fiction that the Humanist Press is putting out, I am definitely going to be seeking more of it. And more of Egan's works, too, for that matter.

This book was listed as YA at some point, but I'm not sure it really is. The protagonist is a teenager, but it seems that the content of the book is more suited for older teens or adults. At least, I don't think labeling it as YA is the best idea, since that often limits the audience.½

American artist Jenny Kidd travels to Venice to pursue painting and escape her tyrannical parents. Shortly after arriving she meets eccentric Britishwoman Randi, who invites her to a masked party at the home of the Barbons. There she meets the alluring Caterina and her brother Sebastiano. Jenny spends much of her time in various kinds of confusion, unsure who she loves and who she can trust. The descriptions of paintings and the Venetian scenery are lovely, and while the amount of sex is somewhat surprising to a prude like myself, it doesn't detract from the story. I finished this far more quickly than I was expecting, having no problem convincing myself to read "just one more chapter" before turning out the light. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed myself.