BOOK REVIEW: 'Lumby on the Air'
The Beat Goes On In Quirky 'Perfect' Small Town
Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
With my reading of Gail Fraser's Lumby on the Air (New American Library paperback, 496 pages, $15.00) I've read two of the five books in the best-selling series set in the offbeat fictional town of Lumby. My first exposure to this town in the Northwest (don't look for it on the map; it's like "Utopia" or "Shangri-La" -- you won't find it) was with Fraser's 2005 The Lumby Lines (NAL paperback, $14.00) which introduces us to Mark and Pam Walker and the Montis Inn and the other unforgettable characters of Lumby.
In Lumby on the Air, Pam and Mark Walker are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary with a week-long family reunion and a ceremony renewing their vows. The reunion coincides with the Chatham County Fair. When Mark's brother-in-law, Seattle shockmeister Carter Reed (think Rush Limbaugh at his most bombastic), starts broadcasting his radio talk show from Montis Inn, his disparaging remarks about small-town life cause immediate rifts that only widen when he sides with a real estate developer who wants to turn Lumby into an asphalt Aspen. As the controversy pits family against family, and neighbor against neighbor, will the spirit that defines Lumby triumph once again?
The Lumby series isn't for everyone, especially those who might object to the preachy, moralistic tone that many characters adopt. The magical transformation of a major character in Lumby on the Air might strike some readers as highly improbable, but improbable things are the norm in Chatham County and Lumby proper.
With illustrations by Fraser's husband Art Poulin, the Lumby series should appeal to a wide variety of readers. The books include, in the Lumby Reader section, recipes, cooking advice -- including sources for gourmet cooking and other information, and, of course, there is a discussion guide with questions for book groups. I think the Lumby books would be delightful choices for book groups.
Come to Lumby for an alternative to the everyday community you inhabit. But a warning: These books can become very addictive!
Gail Fraser, a novelist, has had a successful career in 'corporate America' holding senior executive and upper management positions in several Fortune 500 and start-up corporations, and traveling extensively throughout the world. The author and her husband, artist Art Poulin, are building their own Lumby on Lazy Goose Farm in rural upstate New York. Featured in several magazines and newspapers, Lazy Goose is a 40-acre gentleman's farm that is demarcated by a 200-year old stone wall, and has views of the Catskills, Adirondack and Vermont mountains. Find the author online: www.lumbybooks.com