Friday, September 19, 2008

The Reviews Are In! (Well, one review anyway)

This from a reader on BN.com:

"Customer Reviews
Number of Reviews: 1
Average Rating: 5 stars out of 5
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A tense, spooky, but loving tale of Prohibition-Era alcoholism and modern day recovery
Michelle B. from Austin, Texas, A reviewer, 08/22/2008

Kenneth James Kirsch has penned a winner with this debut novel. The characters are very skillfully drawn, and you feel an instant connection with and sympathy for the main character and victim, Leysa Henko.

Leysa Henko immigrates from Russia to America in 1917 with her older sister, Maryska, father Devak, and mother Ionna. Devak, an abusive alcohlic, opens a tavern in the hard-drinking town of Tallenook, Pennsylvania. Ionna is an angelic mother who teaches her daughters independence and how to be headstrong in a time of turmoil for women fighting for suffrage in the U.S. When Prohibition threatens the family tavern, and Ionna is weakened by tuberculosis, Devak presses his daughters into service delivering vodka door to door to Tallenook's horrific alcoholic shut-ins -- the Monstermen.

The book follows Leysa's descent from bubbly blond immigrant to embittered alcoholic adult. As a child, Leysa is visited by and supported by ancestors who've passed on. But as her view of the world turns dark, she can no longer tune into the help of her spirit friends and she is left to fend for herself. This is a true page-turner that will have you looking over your shoulder and around corners -- and leave you with a lump in your throat. Highly recommended."

I'm floored! -- and hoping for 100 more just like it!

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