The Literary Fiction Shelf

Compassion Michigan: The Ironwood Stories

Raymond Luczak

Modern History Press

5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-9627

9781615995288, $33.95, HC, 200pp

Synopsis: Doesn’t history matter anymore? Could we still have compassion for others who don’t share our views? Encompassing some 130 years in Ironwood’s history, “Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories” by Raymond Luczak (who is a Yooper native, and either the author or the editor of 24 books — including Flannelwood) illuminates characters struggling to adapt to their circumstances starting in the present day, with its subsequent stories rolling back in time to when Ironwood was first founded.

As an author with a genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling skill set that keeps the readers total and rapt attention to what they are reading, author Raymond Lucazk has created an impressive body of work with “Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories”

These are deftly crafted and engaging stories about what does it mean to live in a small town (so laden with its glory day reminiscences) against the stark economic realities of today:

A Deaf woman, born into a large, hearing family, looks back on her turbulent relationship with her younger, hearing sister.
A gas station clerk reflects on Stella Draper, the woman who ran an ice cream parlor only to kill herself on her 33rd birthday.
A devout mother has a crisis of faith when her son admits that their priest molested him.
A bank teller, married to a soldier convicted of treason during the Korean War, gradually falls for a cafeteria worker.
A young transgender man, with a knack for tailoring menswear, escapes his wealthy Detroit background for a chance to live truly as himself in Ironwood.
When a handsome single man is attracted to her, a popular schoolteacher enters into a marriage of convenience only to wonder if she’s made the right decision.

Raymond Luczak, author of Compassion, Michigan

Critique: The twin roles of the literary short story are to entertain and to provoke thought. As an author with a genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling skill set that keeps the readers total and rapt attention to what they are reading, author Raymond Lucazk has created an impressive body of work with “Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories”. While especially and unreservedly recommended for both community and college/university library Contemporary American Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories” is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781615995271, $21.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.95).

Editorial Note: Raymond Luczak is a Yooper native, is the author and editor of 24 books, including Flannelwood.

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Voodoo Shack

Name: Voodoo Shack
Brand: Modern History Press
SKU: 978-1-61599-720-6
Price: 16.95 USD
Availability: InStock

SKU 978-1-61599-720-6

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Product Details

UPC: 978-1-61599-720-6

Brand: Modern History Press

Binding: Paperback

Edition: 1st

Author: Terri Martin

Pages: 150

Publication Date: 03/01/2023

Join Iris and the Voodoo Shack gang as they investigate a mysterious death and an unsolved crime! (For ages 9 and up)

When 11-year-old Iris Weston discovers a ramshackle hunting cabin deep in Hazard Swamp, she and her friends decide it's perfect for a secret clubhouse. The gang dubs it the Voodoo Shack and meets there to swap stories and play card games. Ol' Man Hazard, the former owner, died under mysterious circumstances, and the kids speculate whether it was an accident, suicide or maybe even murder! The gang believes that cash from an unsolved crime may have been stashed within feet of the cabin. Even as things go badly awry, feisty Iris learns how to use her wit and independence to put things right, discovering what family really means in this adventurous and often humorous coming-of-age story set in rural Michigan in 1962.

"Set in the early 1960s, Martin's novel traces a girl's journey toward understanding the true meaning of love, family and friendship. Iris is an appealing character whose relationships with friends and family are realistically portrayed as she struggles to find her place." --School Library Journal

"Martin has drawn on her childhood memories to create an engaging, feisty heroine, lively supporting characters and an easy-to-visualize early 1960s rural Michigan setting. And, although Iris doesn't solve all her mysteries, she finds the answers to the most important ones in this fast-paced story." --ALA Booklist

"Readers fond of lightweight mysteries solved by spunky heroines will take to this fiction debut, though a heavy ballast of tragedy and near-tragedy keeps it low to the ground. Some of the dialogue and set pieces show a promising authorial gift for comedy. (Fiction. 10-12)" --Kirkus Reviews

"...add to this drama that Iris's grandmother is ill, maybe dying in her fears, and she has messed absolutely everything up. Of course, the obvious thing is to admit all her messes to her parents, but who of us at that age ever did that? Any of us 'grownups' who are the least bit honest know exactly how Iris feels. Kids that age today (in the middle of their hopes, dreams, and fears) find a heroine in Voodoo Shack who they identify with and will begin to feel: If she can do it, I can, too." -- Deborah K. Frontiera, U.P. Book Review

This book was originally released as A Family Trait

Learn more at www.TerriLynnMartin.com

From Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com

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