Life, they say, is a state of mind. In the small northwoods town of Tall Pine Minnesota, that state of mind is found at the Cup O'Delight café, where the robust and very beautiful Lee O'Leary makes a cup of coffee that's balm for the heart. The O'Delight gang gathers there every day and occasionally for what it calls the Tall Pine Polka, an event in which heavenly coffee, good food, and that feeling of being alive among friends inspires both body and soul to dance. Escaping to the northwoods from an abusive husband, Lee answered the question "What am I going to do with my life?" by opening the cafe. Now it's a clubhouse of sorts for Tall Pine's more colorful citizens. There's Miss Penk and Frau Katt, the town's only lesbian couple ("Well, we're za only ones who admit it."); Bill, proprietor of the Shoe Shack, who spends nights crafting beautiful shoes to present to Lee--along with his declaration of love; Slim, the shell-shocked veteran; Mary, whose bad poetry can clear out the cafe in seconds flat; and, most important of all, Lee's best friend, Fenny Ness, a smart and sassy twenty-two-year-old going on eighty, who has managed her parents' tourist shop since their tragic death put her in state of grounded melancholy she has no intention of leaving. Then Hollywood rolls into Tall Pine. It seems the quiet border town is the perfect location for a romantic comedy set in a place "with quaintness up the wazoo." And Fenny, pounced on like a bone in a yard full of hungry dogs, is evidently that rarity in Hollywood: a "natural." She's also the film's new star. Then, in the middle of the Tall Pine-Tinseltown culture clash, an itinerant musician known as Big Bill drops his backpack (named Big Bill because he's big and, well, his name is Bill). Soon Lee and Fenny find their friendship tested in unimagined ways by their mutual affections for the attractive newcomer. As the eccentrics keep a cool eye on the complex geometry of this romantic triangle, events at once sublime, surreal, and tragic push all their hearts in unexplored directions--where endings can turn into new beginnings. Delighted readers of Your Oasis on Flame Lake and Patty Jane's House of Curl have something to cheer about. Resplendent with Lorna Landvik's trademark pathos, hilarity, and offbeat characters, The Tall Pine Polka is a lyrical, funny, and idiosyncratic tale that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Landvik is a remarkable writer with the power to illuminate the workings of the human heart.

The Tall Pine Polka

Literature & Fiction

Landvik, Lorna

United States

Ballantine Books

"All right, so I'm a diva. . . . For those of you who don't know me, I am Geneva Jordan, star of stage, screen, and television. (If you didn't see me accept my Tony, I'm sure you heard my voice singing the 'Sweetie Cat' litterbox and Chef Mustachio Frozen Pizza jingles.) . . ." Now Geneva Jordan has a command performance in Minnesota, a challenging role set in reality. Making her entrance with her usual flair, she is coming to the rescue of her twin sister, Ann, and Ann's husband, Riley. They desperately need someone to care for their thirteen-year-old son, Rich, a boy with Down's syndrome, while the couple takes their first-ever vacation away from him. Though she and Ann are as different as night and day ("I being night, of course, dark and dramatic"), Geneva remembers she had a family before she had a star on her door. But so accustomed is she to playing the lead, finding herself a supporting actress in someone else's life is strange and unexplored territory. Leaving behind the bright lights of Manhattan, a tumultuous relationship with a charming (if cheating) Brit--whose tastes run to doe-eyed ingenues--Geneva heads to Deep Lake, Minnesota. Vowing to have the part of June Cleaver (minus the pearls) down flat, she gracefully steps into her role with a determination that she will perform with great panache even if she bombs at navigating the perils of domesticity. However, life, Geneva soon learns, doesn't always follow even the best of scripts. And just as the guileless Rich and the eccentric folks of Deep Lake begin to open her heart, an unexpected tragedy forever changes the lives of those she has come to care about, forcing her to redefine her own role as well. Lorna Landvik delivers an extra special treat for readers who relished The Tall Pine Polka and Patty Jane's House of Curl. Hilarious and heart-wrenching, this wonderfully touching story is brilliantly told by a writer with a gift for portraying the dark side of comedy and the lighter side of tragedy to create a harmony that is the very essence of life and love.

Welcome to the Great Mysterious

From her sensational sleeper hit Patty Jane’s House of Curl to her heartwarming novel Welcome to the Great Mysterious, Lorna Landvik has won the hearts of readers everywhere by skillfully balancing hilarity with pathos, and bittersweet insights with heartwarming truths. Now she returns to her beloved, eccentric stomping ground of small-town Minnesota where the most eclectic, and engaging group of women you’ll ever meet share love, loss, and laughter. Sometimes life is like a bad waiter—it serves you exactly what you don’t want. The women of Freesia Court have come together at life’s table, fully convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delectable desserts, and a strong shoulder can’t fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together—the foundation of a book group they call AWEB—Angry Wives Eating Bon Bons—an unofficial “club” that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline. The five women each have a story of their own to tell. There’s Faith, the newcomer, a lonely housewife and mother of twins, a woman who harbors a terrible secret that has condemned her to living a lie; big, beautiful Audrey, the resident sex queen who knows that good posture and an attitude can let you get away with anything; Merit, the shy, quiet doctor’s wife with the face of an angel and the private hell of an abusive husband; Kari, a thoughtful, wise woman with a wonderful laugh as “deep as Santa Claus’s with a cold” who knows the greatest gifts appear after life’s fiercest storms; and finally, Slip, activist, adventurer, social changer, a tiny, spitfire of a woman who looks trouble straight in the eye and challenges it to arm wrestle. Holding on through forty eventful years—through the swinging Sixties, the turbulent Seventies, the anything-goes Eighties, the nothing’s-impossible Nineties—the women will take the plunge into the chaos that inevitably comes to those with the temerity to be alive and kicking. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons depicts a special slice of American life, of stay-at-home days and new careers, children and grandchildren, bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that mends broken hearts and shattered dreams. Once again Lorna Landvik leaves you laughing and crying, as she reveals perhaps the greatest truth: that there is nothing like the saving grace of best friends.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

“[A] sweet, funny story . . . as good as Patty Jane’s House of Curl.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune Megastar of stage, screen, and television, Geneva Jordan now has a command performance in Minnesota, where she agrees to look after her thirteen-year-old nephew, a boy with Down’s syndrome, while his parents take a long-overdue vacation. Though Geneva and her sister, Ann, are as different as night and day (“I being night, of course, dark and dramatic”), Geneva remembers she had a family before she had a star on her door. But so accustomed is she to playing the lead, finding herself a supporting actress in someone else’s life is strange and unexplored territory. Then the discovery of an old scrapbook that she and her sister created long ago starts her thinking of things beyond fame. For The Great Mysterious is a collection of thoughts and feelings dedicated to answering life’s big questions—far outside the spotlight’s glow. . . .

Welcome to the Great Mysterious: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Humor & Satire

Random House Publishing Group

“A lively story as delectable as a five-pound box of chocolates . . . a thoroughly engaging chronicle of friendship and the substantive place it holds in women’s lives.”—Anne D. LeClaire, author of Leaving Eden The women of Freesia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delicious desserts, and a strong shoulder can’t fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together—the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial “club” that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline. Holding on through forty eventful years, there’s Faith, a lonely mother of twins who harbors a terrible secret that has condemned her to living a lie; big, beautiful Audrey, the resident sex queen who knows that with good posture and an attitude you can get away with anything; Merit, the doctor’s shy wife with the face of an angel and the private hell of an abusive husband; Kari, a wise woman with a wonderful laugh who knows that the greatest gifts appear after life’s fiercest storms; and finally, Slip, a tiny spitfire of a woman who isn’t afraid to look trouble straight in the eye. This stalwart group of friends depicts a special slice of American life, of stay-at-home days and new careers, of children and grandchildren, of bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that mends broken hearts and shattered dreams. “It is impossible not to get caught up in the lives of the book group members. . . . Landvik’s gift lies in bringing these familiar women to life with insight and humor.”—The Denver Post “A guilty pleasure . . . This light, snappy read may be [Landvik’s] best yet.”—Midwest Living

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

I am convinced that at birth the cake is already baked. Nurture is the nuts or frosting, but if you’re a spice cake, you’re a spice cake, and nothing is going to change you into an angel food. Tall, slender Violet Mathers is growing up in the Great Depression, which could just as well define her state of mind. Abandoned by her mother as a child, mistreated by her father, and teased by her schoolmates (“Hey, Olive Oyl, where’s Popeye?”), the lonely girl finds solace in artistic pursuits. Only when she’s hired by the town’s sole feminist to work the night shift in the local thread factory does Violet come into her name, and bloom. Accepted by her co-workers, the teenager enters the happiest phase of her life, until a terrible accident causes her to retreat once again into her lonely shell. Realizing that she has only one clear choice, Violet boards a bus heading west to California. But when the bus crashes in North Dakota, it seems that Fate is having another cruel laugh at Violet’s expense. This time though, Violet laughs back. She and her fellow passengers are rescued by two men: Austin Sykes, whom Violet is certain is the blackest man to ever set foot on the North Dakota prairie, and Kjel Hedstrom, who inspires feelings Violet never before has felt. Kjel and Austin are musicians whose sound is like no other, and with pluck, verve, and wit, Violet becomes part of their quest to make a new kind of music together. Oh My Stars is Lorna Landvik’s most ambitious novel yet, with a cast of characters whose travails and triumphs you’ll long remember. It is a tale of love and hope, bigotry and betrayal, loss and discovery–as Violet, who’s always considered herself a minor character in her own life story, emerges as a heroine you’ll laugh with, cry with, and, most important, cheer for all the way.

Oh My Stars: A Novel

The View from Mount Joy, Lorna Landvik’s delightfully quirky and intensely moving new novel, is about a man, a supermarket, the roads not taken, and the great, unexpected pleasures found in living a good life. When hunky teenage hockey player Joe Andreson and his widowed mother move to Minneapolis, Joe falls under the seductive spell of Kristi Casey, Ole Bull High’s libidinous head cheerleader, the kind of girl a guy can’t say no to, even when saying yes guarantees trouble. Joe balances Kristi’s lustful manipulation with the down-to-earth companionship of his smart, platonic girlfriend, Darva. But it is Kristi who will prove to be a temptation (and torment) throughout Joe’s life. Years later, having once dreamed of a career in pro hockey or as a globetrotting journalist, Joe can’t believe that life has deposited him in the aisles of Haugland Foods. But he soon learns that being a grocer is like being the mayor of a small town: His constituents confide astonishing things and always appreciate the value of a hard-to-pass-up special, a free toy for a well-behaved youngster, a pie for the best rendition of “Alfie,” or simply Joe’s generous dispensing of the milk of human kindness. For Joe, everyday life is its own roller-coaster ride, and all he wants to do is hold on tight. The path Kristi has charged down, on the other hand, is as wild as Joe’s is tame–or at least that’s how it appears to the outside world. But who has really risked more? Who has lived more? And who is truly happy? As Joe discovers–in this dramatic, heartbreaking, and hilarious novel–sometimes people are lucky enough to be standing in the one place where the view of the world is breathtaking, if only they’ll open their eyes to all there is to see. The View from Mount Joy is truly glorious: a warm, wonderful picture of life as seen from the deepest places in the heart.

The View from Mount Joy: A Novel

When teenage hockey player Joe Andreson and his widowed mother move to Minneapolis, Joe falls under the seductive spell of Kristi Casey, Ole Bull High’s libidinous head cheerleader. Joe balances Kristi’s lustful manipulation with the down-to-earth companionship of his smart, platonic girlfriend, Darva. But it is Kristi who will prove to be a temptation (and torment) throughout Joe’s life. Years later, Joe can’t believe that life has deposited him in the aisles of Haugland Foods. But he soon learns that being a grocer is like being the mayor of a small town: His constituents confide astonishing things and always appreciate Joe’s generous dispensing of the milk of human kindness. The path Kristi has charged down, on the other hand, is as wild as Joe’s is tame. But who has really risked more? Who has lived more? And who is truly happy? As Joe discovers, sometimes people are lucky enough to be standing in the one place where the view of the world is breathtaking, if only they’ll open their eyes to all there is to see. Praise for The View from Mount Joy: “A delightful journey . . . full of humor and poignancy and the potential for joy in everyday life.” –The Charlotte Observer “Deeply satisfying . . . Bursting with the same deliciously deadpan dialogue that is now a Landvik trademark . . . [The View from Mount Joy provides] quite possibly Landvik’s most lovable character to date.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune “Pervaded by the same tenderness readers loved in Landvik’s other books The View from Mount Joy . . . Should inspire interesting book club discussions.” –St. Paul Pioneer Press “[Landvik] has an easy, engaging narrative style laced with humor.” –The Boston Globe “Landvik’s latest homespun homage is pure bliss.” –Booklist NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS

The women of Freesia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delectable desserts, and a strong shoulder can’t fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together—the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial “club” that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline. Holding on through forty eventful years, there’s Faith, a lonely mother of twins who harbors a terrible secret that has condemned her to living a lie; big, beautiful Audrey, the resident sex queen who knows that with good posture and an attitude you can get away with anything; Merit, the shy doctor’s wife with the face of an angel and the private hell of an abusive husband; Kari, a wise woman with a wonderful laugh who knows the greatest gifts appear after life’s fiercest storms; and finally, Slip, a tiny spitfire of a woman who isn’t afraid to look trouble straight in the eye. This stalwart group of friends depicts a special slice of American life, of stay-at-home days and new careers, of children and grandchildren, of bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that mends broken hearts and shattered dreams. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel

Fawcett

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Books by Landvik, Lorna

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Landvik, Lorna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Tall Pine Polka

Welcome to the Great Mysterious

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

Welcome to the Great Mysterious: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Oh My Stars: A Novel

The View from Mount Joy: A Novel

The View from Mount Joy: A Novel

Oh My Stars: A Novel

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel