I purchased a copy of Tory Hartmann’s novel, First Friday, from her at the 2016 San Mateo County Fair. As Editor of Sand Hill Review Press, Tory was pushing her literary wares. She’s a friend of mine and a great writer with a keen sense of humor. How could I go wrong? Besides, the blurb on the back of First Friday lured me in.
The O’Neil Household is rife with saints and sinners. Statues and paintings of the Virgin Mary are everywhere, as this large Catholic family still keeps many old traditions nearly lost in the 21st century. Every first Friday of the month, Malachi and Irene insist that the kids come up for 7 am mass at Old Mission Dolores in San Francisco. That same night there is an enormous First Friday dinner at the house. The adult children may roll their eyes during grace and make fun of their parents for being so old-fashioned, but they all show up. Agnes Anne, 28 and the last child living at home, is trying her best to launch an independent life, but her stutter, lack of self-confidence, and the lecherous advances of her brother-in-law stall her exit. One day, she brings home a nice Jewish man and all hell breaks loose.
The book is character driven with a strong component of tension. Colorful characters abound, yet the story always belongs to Agnes Anne. Even “Our Lady of the Belgian Waffle,” a metaphorical garden snail, and sightings of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) can’t upstage her. Dialect, essential when used, is masterful and never feels overdone. (Yes, all you writers’ workshop leaders out there: Dialect CAN work.) WARNING: Don’t start reading First Friday at night if you have to get up early the next morning. I read until 1:20 am and nearly fell asleep with my nose in my cup of breakfast coffee.
Thoughts that First Friday left behind in my brain—other than the fact that Tory Hartmann truly is an author worth reading.
- I will never look at pancakes the same way again.
- I will think twice before harming a garden snail.
- I will never stop believing in miracles.
Kudos for Tory Hartmann (http://www.toryhartmann.com/).
Warm wishes,
Laurel Anne Hill (Award-winning author of Heroes Arise.)