[MJB]≫ PDF Each Vagabond By Name Margo Orlando Littell 9781608011223 Books

Each Vagabond By Name Margo Orlando Littell 9781608011223 Books

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Each Vagabond By Name Margo Orlando Littell 9781608011223 Books

It's easy to immediately immerse myself in Littell's literary style. She draws fully formed characters without drowning the reader in every detail of the moment. Here's a taste of the types of passages you'll find. This one was a personal favorite. (Don't worry, there's no spoilers.):

"When the sun lightened the rooms, he stopped cleaning. He opened the front door to let in the fresh, cold air, and made coffee. He sat at his table and sipped it while it was near-boiling. The heat burned his tongue. His eye watered, and he sipped again. The pale pre-morning light lapping at the sky made him feel old and even more alone. There were no night-sounds now, just the slam of someone's car door. It was that slam that did it, that slam that sounded like every other slamming door he'd ever heard in his life. Maybe Liza was right - maybe it was time he left. He could do exactly this - sitting and sipping - anywhere in the world."

The main characters tackle issues of a changing local landscape and fear of newcomers. Yet, the real genius of the novel is that it captures the zeitgeist of our current times without any of the details you'd find in reality to mire the story in politics.


Tags : Each Vagabond By Name [Margo Orlando Littell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. WINNER: Gold Medal, IPPY Awards 2017, Best Regional Fiction<br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div> When a group of traveling people descends on the sleepy town of Shelk,Margo Orlando Littell,Each Vagabond By Name,University of New Orleans Press,1608011224,Literary,Bars (Drinking establishments),Bars (Drinking establishments);Fiction.,Belonging (Social psychology),Choice (Psychology),Life change events,Miners,Miners;Fiction.,Missing children,Pennsylvania,Psychological fiction,Romanies,Romanies;Fiction.,Social isolation,FICTION Literary,FICTION Women,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Literary,General,General Adult,UNIVERSITY PRESS,United States

Each Vagabond By Name Margo Orlando Littell 9781608011223 Books Reviews

Nothing earth-shattering here, just a very well-written book that will keep you turning the pages because the author gets you invested in the lives of these simple yet complex characters. There's drama and conflict, but a good bit of it is internal and down-to-earth. Emotions that we all feel at one time or another in a very universal way. A very good beginning effort for this writer.
I got up early to finish this book in peace, and found myself not wanting to leave behind Littell's gems of insight on the human condition. (One of my favorites "...where love was sometimes indistinguishable from battle." Littell is not only an a impressive writer, but a keen watcher/observer.) I found myself dog-earing page after page so I could go back to relish a paragraph or a single, searing sentence.

So much to say about this book...but will just say that the development of its imperfect characters was perfect (the use of the open/closed sign was genius) and the sense of place and clashing communities was breathtaking. I'll be living with these characters in my head for a while.

Hope she's writing another. Now I have to go find the Vagabond poem that inspired her for this one.
For those of us who love to read, a beautifully written novel is a delicious gift. Margo, Orlando Littell’s debut novel Each Vagabond by Name is just such a gift. The story is set in Shelk, a small, rural town in the coal country of Western Pennsylvania, “no poorer than any other town” where “most people felt safe” until the gypsies came. The main character, Zaccariah Ramsy, lost an eye in Vietnam and now owns a small local bar. Seventeen years prior, his wife left him, taking their infant daughter. Stella Vale, the town librarian, has spent 15 years looking for the infant daughter she believes was taken by the gypsies. They are drawn to each other through their common loss and the emotional isolation generated by grief and rejection. Much like the gypsies, Ramsy and Stella are outsiders. Ms. Littell’s prose is simple, direct, and effective. Her love for and knowledge of rural Pennsylvania and its residences is beautifully reflected throughout the novel. Each chapter opens with a street address named after a native state wildflower. She artfully integrates the vagabond theme throughout her story, from the opening poem, to Ramsy’s story of how he lost his eye, to JT’s description of sitting in a house and imagining living there. This novel belongs in a league with those best-selling gems that we all read and loved like The Secret Lives of Bees, and The Help. Ms. Littell is a gifted writer. I look forward to reading future novels by Ms. Littell.
This was a great story that just kept on going. I myself lived in small-town western Pennsylvania for a few years, and this book captured the entire feel of the country and the people just perfectly. It’s a beautiful place with a lot of great down-to-earth people, but there is also something about it that always feels just a little sad and tarnished, hollowed out, and with perhaps a layer of coal dust on it. The “atmospherics” were as big part of this book for me as the characters. Shortly after starting this book, I slipped right back into the way I remember feeling when I lived there.

Ramsy’s little bar is just so typical of those you can find in a hundred other little Pennsylvania towns. Ramsy, Stella Vale, and all of the other characters are quite believable, even the gypsies. The way they behave and react to life’s daily challenges doesn’t ever require the reader to suspend disbelief. The author also does very well at describing Ramsy’s experience in Taipei during the Vietnam War; I, too, visited Asia back in my military days around that time, and that’s certainly within in the range of what an ordinary soldier might experience.

The only part of this story I felt was a bit of a stretch was the way in which the gypsies managed to hang on for so long and continue what they were doing without driving the town or the authorities (state police, anyone?) to take some action.

A lot of authors paint a great picture and spin a great tale, then leave the reader almost hanging in space at the end, but this particular story had a good strong ending as well. Highly recommended.
A beautifully written book. The author captures the feel of small-town interaction, dreams and losses with grace and precision. You feel as though you can touch the tacky top of the bar she describes. By far, my favorite aspect of the book is the endearing relationship between the main characters, Stella and Ramsy. I have never seen such an interaction. An entire plot-line dancing with these two souls, that comes close to, but never crosses the line into intimacy. Such a refreshing and thoughtful story to read. This book was a pleasure and I eagerly await the next one from this talented author.
It's easy to immediately immerse myself in Littell's literary style. She draws fully formed characters without drowning the reader in every detail of the moment. Here's a taste of the types of passages you'll find. This one was a personal favorite. (Don't worry, there's no spoilers.)

"When the sun lightened the rooms, he stopped cleaning. He opened the front door to let in the fresh, cold air, and made coffee. He sat at his table and sipped it while it was near-boiling. The heat burned his tongue. His eye watered, and he sipped again. The pale pre-morning light lapping at the sky made him feel old and even more alone. There were no night-sounds now, just the slam of someone's car door. It was that slam that did it, that slam that sounded like every other slamming door he'd ever heard in his life. Maybe Liza was right - maybe it was time he left. He could do exactly this - sitting and sipping - anywhere in the world."

The main characters tackle issues of a changing local landscape and fear of newcomers. Yet, the real genius of the novel is that it captures the zeitgeist of our current times without any of the details you'd find in reality to mire the story in politics.