‘The Man from Scratch’
humor should be cloned
Rhonda Keith’s 2012 novel The Wish Book was a sweetly imaginative story about an antiques dealer whose elderly aunt asks her to place an order out of a 1947 Sears catalogue, and receives an unexpected delivery. The Man from Scratch, Keith’s new book, is darker, but maintains the same razor-smart wit and subtle satire with a genuine touch of the weird.
The main characters are Roxy Barbarino, a writer who works in the downtown Akron office of a publication called Adventuress, A Magazine for Gutsy Women, and Fran Stone, a surgeon who is the subject of one of Roxy’s articles. The story, which goes back and forth between the present and a few years previous, begins with Roxy going to Fran’s house and finding she’s not there, which is worrisome.
The narrative then shifts to “a few years ago,” when Fran has been working on a project — a man of her very own. Akron is the home of a prominent, but somewhat covert, human clone project, and Fran has been collecting hair, blood and cells to make her own man from scratch.
The other female characters, who include Jaydine Eager, an enterprising free-thinker who takes the clones on a field trip, and Susan Sprinkle, who opens a male escort service called ManTap, are intelligent and lively; in fact, nonwithstanding the out-there plot, the book’s greatest pleasure is the sharp and completely non-contrived dialogue between Keith’s cast of women.
The Man from Scratch (263 pages, softcover) costs $18 from online retailers. Rhonda Keith lives in Madeira, near Cincinnati, and is working on a second novel featuring Roxy Barbarino.
New Amish series
With five successful Amish series and more than a dozen romance novels behind her, prolific author Shelley Shepard Gray launches another series, The Days of Redemption. Daybreak is set in Holmes County, where the Keim family is having troubles.
First to be introduced is Viola, who works at Daybreak, a Mennonite retirement home, where she enjoys serving and chatting with the residents, especially friendly widower Atle Swartz. Viola is not so happy when Atle reads from letters he receives from his son, Edward. Edward is a missionary in Nicaragua, and it bothers Viola that he would leave his father in a home while he goes off to help strangers.
When Edward shows up for a surprise visit, Viola tries to keep her feelings to herself, but discovers that not only is he not such a bad guy, but that they may have a future together. What will happen when Edward returns to his work?
Meanwhile, the rest of the family is in an uproar because of the discovery that Lovina, the hyperperfectionist matriarch, had converted to the Amish faith, concealed this information and now refuses to talk about it. It’s not too uncommon to convert, but the relatives are fuming because sanctimonious Lovina had always stressed the importance of being a model Amish housewife and gave no room for error.
Of interest here is that the Keim family is New Order Amish; they have telephones but do not drive cars, and Edward sits down with a mystery novel, which is not often seen in these characters.
Daybreak (248 pages, softcover) costs $12.99 from Avon Inspire, an imprint of HarperCollins. Shelley Shepard Gray lives in Loveland, in southwest Ohio. Ray of Light, the next book in the series, will be out in May, and a Return to Sugarcreek series in 2014.
Spanish novel translated
Stow resident James P. Diendl has translated Zalacain the Adventurer, a picaresque novel by Spanish author Pío Baroja (1872-1956), known as part of the “Generation of ’98,” a group of writers active in Spain about the time of the Spanish-American War. The English translation is available in softcover and audiobook from online retailers.
Events
Cuyahoga Falls Library (2015 Third St.) — Cleveland novelist Nick Shamhart talks about The Fog Within, about a woman with autism, at 7 p.m. Monday in a benefit for Autism Speaks.
Dover Public Library (525 N. Walnut St.) — Canton financial planner Gary Sirak talks about and signs If Your Money Could Talk, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Tommy’s Restaurant (1824 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights) — Children’s author Tricia Springstubb (What Happened on Fox Street) reads from her new picture book Phoebe and Digger, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday. Coffee, juice and bagels will be provided. Raffle proceeds and a portion of book sales will benefit Family Connections.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Northwest Akron branch, 1720 Shatto Ave.) — Author Michelle Colopy, with former city engineer Bill Wilkerson, talk about the history of Akron’s Glendale Cemetery, 1 p.m. Wednesday.
North Canton Public Library (185 N. Main St.) — Beacon Journal food columnist Lisa Abraham talks about and signs Famous Chefs and Fabulous Recipes, 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights) — Erin O’Brien signs The Irish-Hungarian Guide to Domestic Arts, 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Mogadore branch, 144 S. Cleveland Ave.) — Kachina Riley talks about Tattered Phoenix, which tells about her struggles to overcome the difficulties of her disadvantaged childhood and discouraging teachers and achieve academic success, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Marjorie Tannehill signs Serendipity Happens: The Sassy Adventures of a Girl Traveling on Her Own, 1 p.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.