What a gem of a read! This book was a gift, I love the classic style hardback, and it sits on a coffee table to be admired.
However, when visitors start browsing through, they beg me to lend it to them. I refuse, they have to purchase their own. Why? Because it is a book I enjoy, a story I found myself absorbed within, and pick it up to read various snippets on regular occasions.
We are proud to announce that Wobbly Barstool by Jane Lowy is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells a reader that this book is well worth their time and money!
Wobbly Barstool is a charming story about a remarkable family filled with wonderful characters. The tale is optimistic and exciting, thrilling up 'til the end. There are many positive messages and themes, too. Read this book!
The Victorian era comes alive in a way which allows us in the 21st century to gain a perspective which may surprise many readers who think they have that era pegged in this witty and endearing story of a vulnerable but somehow abiding character.
I received a gorgeous hardcover edition of Wobbly Barstool as a Christmas present. (Thanks, Catherine!) Written by a contemporary American author in the style of a Victorian-era English novel, it reads like a New Age Dickensian tale.
It's a G-rated, wizardless, vampire-free delight featuring complex mysteries and serious coming of age conflicts. The moral development of the characters and the hints at social reform are refreshing but not preachy. With 43 short, lively chapters and convincing cliffhangers, it lends itself to being read over time like the serial literature of the 19th century. I recommend it to friends who read with their kids.
I loved Jane's characters. I enjoyed all the twists and turns in the plot. I read and reread Wobbly just to remain close to the characters. Wobbly Barstool is fun to read and you will laugh out loud while reading. Jane, thank you for giving us Wobbly, Tobias, and all your other wonderful characters.
Wobbly Barstool is not a rickety piece of pub furniture. Wobbly Barstool is an innocent, yet far from simple, young fellow growing up on a 19th century English farm, who spends a number of years faithfully pursuing his love at first sight, the reluctant socialite from London, Prunella Baddonschilde. Wobbly strives to broaden his worldliness, but for this ingenuous young man with rural roots, seeking his true love's hand is of course severely hampered by the young woman's social-climbing mother, who would sooner die than see her daughter marry anyone less than a peer of the realm. (A large cast of other characters also navigate the wending paths of life's vicissitudes.)
Jane Lowy, in her first book, has written a charming, carefully and cleverly crafted, lighthearted yet powerful Victorian-era literary novel that will both entertain and deeply move its audience. Through her characters she touts the benefits of an amiable, simple life, appreciative of nature, strong friendships, and family connections based on love rather than social ambition. She urges us to work toward a world of cooperation among people and animals, and even gently promotes vegetarianism.
In a story filled with puzzling mysteries, loyalty, persistence, even danger, Wobbly Barstool gives us a good, old-fashioned life-affirming story, unlike much of the lurid prose passing for literature these days.
