Helpful Score: 1
This is one of those stories that stay with you for a very long time; it's a wonderful tale of realizing that life is passing you by and then doing something about it.
Gertrude Barkley is an original in a town of eccentrics! She has lived her life as an independent, unmarried author in the small town of Venice, Missouri. Every-once-in-a-while, she likes to shake the town up; like the day she bobbed her hair.
It is 1915 and ragtime is the music of the moment. Mikoli Stefanski is a self-made man; a widower with a son in his last year in high school. Mikoli is a Polish immigrant to admire; he's created his own opportunity and now is a wealthy businessman. However, he is tolerated by the town (because of his generous philanthropy) but he knows that his son will be accepted as an âAmerican.'
Teodor Stefanski is an intelligent football star at Venice High School and Claire Barkley is his best friend. Gertrude Barkley is Claire's aunt and Claire admires and emulates her aunt whenever she can. The Stefanski's and the Barkley's live next door to each other â and have for 17 years.
This story is about Gertrude and Mikoli; a couple in their late 30's. They decide to enter into a relationship; they each state that they are not interested in marrying. The seduction scene in this book is 22 pages long and some of the most romantic lines I've ever read.
All four of the major characters are sympathetically drawn; humor and pathos are important ingredients in this story. I personally don't think 5 stars are enough; this one is a keeper.
Gertrude Barkley is an original in a town of eccentrics! She has lived her life as an independent, unmarried author in the small town of Venice, Missouri. Every-once-in-a-while, she likes to shake the town up; like the day she bobbed her hair.
It is 1915 and ragtime is the music of the moment. Mikoli Stefanski is a self-made man; a widower with a son in his last year in high school. Mikoli is a Polish immigrant to admire; he's created his own opportunity and now is a wealthy businessman. However, he is tolerated by the town (because of his generous philanthropy) but he knows that his son will be accepted as an âAmerican.'
Teodor Stefanski is an intelligent football star at Venice High School and Claire Barkley is his best friend. Gertrude Barkley is Claire's aunt and Claire admires and emulates her aunt whenever she can. The Stefanski's and the Barkley's live next door to each other â and have for 17 years.
This story is about Gertrude and Mikoli; a couple in their late 30's. They decide to enter into a relationship; they each state that they are not interested in marrying. The seduction scene in this book is 22 pages long and some of the most romantic lines I've ever read.
All four of the major characters are sympathetically drawn; humor and pathos are important ingredients in this story. I personally don't think 5 stars are enough; this one is a keeper.
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