Saturday June 24 at 5 PM Marie Bostwick presents her latest novel, Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly. Marie Bostwick is familiar to many Central Oregon residents, she lived in Sunriver and was an active member of the quilting community.  Space will be limited, register to attend this free event by emailing sunriverbooks@sunriverbooks.com There will be refreshments and drawings for prizes.

Esme had a rough start in life, until her grandparents stepped in, taking the small girl to live with them in their rustic resort on a lake ideal for fishing outside Asheville North Carolina.  They were kind people and did well by Esme.  Both her grandmother Adele and grandfather George loved reading. She grew up wanting to write and feeling the place to be was New York City, never mind her grandfather ‘s assertion Thomas Wolfe did just fine coming from North Carolina.  Esme had another reason for wanting to leave, her mother, Robyn, was finally coming home.  Esme wanted to be long gone before the woman who had failed so spectacularly as a mother arrived.  So, at 19 she headed out to the big city.

 Years went by, success as an author never came, nor did the promised visits home.  When her grandmother dies, she finally heads home, arriving to find the rustic resort along the lake shore much changed.  In the past it was well maintained and inviting, now it all looks worn and shabby, things are definitely not right. 

The story moves between Esme’s life as a woman seeking a measure of success and the war years when her grandmother Adele was young.   Adele also dreamed of succeeding as an artist, hoped to see her paintings hanging on art gallery walls. 

I enjoy books that give a shout out to other works of literature and have interesting characters.  This succeeds on both counts!  It is a lovely story about the measure of what success really means, the intrinsic value of art, the bonds of family, and the rewards of friendship.