True Confession: I’ve had Brenda Peterson’s book Duck and Cover! on my Kindle for months–actually, I had the book before I had the Kindle. She gave me a Kindle copy as a “thank you” for tweaking her book cover a bit. So I had the book and for some reason I just never got it opened. Well, I finally did this afternoon as I was waiting for The Boy to drag himself out of the weight room after his “Burst and Explode” or some such thing training–it’s supposed to keep him toned and ready for football practice this summer, which will keep him toned and ready for the football season, which is a mere–what?–ten months away? ish? Around here we take our football very, very seriously, even though we win surprisingly seldom for all the work we put into it.
Anyhow, there I am outside the weight room with only my Kindle for company, and I’m housecleaning on it, taking off the read books, and the moron tests The Boy loaded on and insisted I take (I failed both of them), and wondering what I should read next when there, buried behind the second moron test, was Duck and Cover!
It seemed appropriate after the weekend we just had–snow and freezing rain enough to shut down school for two days–so I opened it up and by the bottom of the first page I was remembering why I loved I Want To Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here On Earth, the first book of Peterson’s that I read. It’s her voice. Her writer’s voice, I mean.
She writes lovely, tight, evocative prose full of hidden shadows and deft humor that grows not out of facile word plays but out of idea plays. And she can capture a character in dialog like nobody’s business. Take, for example, her comment that the Virgin Mary was merely “God’s vehicle” to get Jesus into the world. The speaker then goes on to note that she considers her own red Dart God’s vehicle as well, but she certainly doesn’t get all offended if someone speaks of it in disrespectful terms.
There’s more. There’s much, much more, and I’m only into the third chapter. If you love good writing, read Brenda Peterson. Start with Duck and Cover! You can get it here. I’ll do a full review later, but you should go grab a copy of your own. You really, really should.
Speak! Good Dog! 
What a lovely surprise and an auspicious way to begin Chinese New Year when I saw this review of my book. Thanks so much for reading!
Brenda
You’re welcome, Brenda. I say that though I should, in fact, be berating you. I stayed up far, far, too late, my Kindle glowing in the dark like an evil rectangular eye, as I read far, far too much of Duck and Cover. Davy is missing, and the jury’s still out on whether Hawk is going to go look for him or not. I had to sleep in this morning. You’re screwing with my income, lady.
You got me enthused about Brenda so I went to Amazon and downloaded a sample of her book, which I always do before purchasing. If what you say is true about her writing, I’m sure I’ll end up hitting the buy button. I do so love finding new authors I can love. Thanks
Here’s a good tip–Brenda also teaches classes and edits. I’m going to inquire about her rates. If she edits as well as she writes (and former clients have assured me she does) I want to be her when I grow up.
Thanks for introducing me to Brenda Peterson’s work two years ago, Bodie! She’s everything you say. 🙂
Blast! I was gonna lay off the books for a while, so I could get my laundry done…. Now I’m off to download Brenda from Amazon.
Welcome, Jenny–glad you could stop by (I love your blog, by the way). You won’t be sorry you voted for Brenda rather than laundry–once you’re done with Duck and Cover you really should check out her memoir (the link’s up in my premature review). That’s the book that really hooked me on her. But Duck and Cover’s a great book, too. Don’t know which I like best.
“Duck and Cover” is a brilliant read. You will be happy you read this book, and you’ll want MORE when you’re done.
This is true– Brenda’s a writers’ writer–when I read her prose I think, “Ahh, THAT’S how it’s supposed to be done…” It’s pristine, but so very readable it’s almost undetectable.
By the way, folks, Maureen’s the person who first introduced me to Brenda’s writing, so let’s give her all a big “Attagirl!”