A bittersweet, seriously funny novel of a life, a small town, and a key to our troubled times traced through a newspaper columnist’s half-century of taking in, and taking on, the world The curmudgeon who wrote the column “Ramblin’s by Walt” in the Granite Creek Gazette dismissed his successor as “puking on paper.” But when Haze Evans first appeared in the small-town newspaper, she earned fans … small-town newspaper, she earned fans by writing a story about her bachelor uncle who brought a Queen of the Rodeo to Thanksgiving dinner. Now, fifty years later, when the beloved columnist suffers a massive stroke and falls into a coma, publisher Susan McGrath fills the void (temporarily, she hopes) with Haze’s past columns, along with the occasional reprinted responses from readers. Most letters were favorable, although Haze did have her trolls; one Joseph Snell in particular dubbed her “liberal” ideas the “chronicles of a radical hag.” Never censoring herself, Haze chose to mollify her critics with homey recipes–recognizing, in her constantly practical approach to the world and her community, that buttery Almond Crescents will certainly “melt away any misdirected anger.”
Framed by news stories of half a century and annotated with the town’s chorus of voices, Haze’s story unfolds, as do those of others touched by the Granite Creek Gazette, including Susan, struggling with her troubled marriage, and her teenage son Sam, who–much to his surprise–enjoys his summer job reading the paper archives and discovers secrets that have been locked in the files for decades, along with sad and surprising truths about Haze’s past.
With her customary warmth and wit, Lorna Landvik summons a lifetime at once lost and recovered, a complicated past that speaks with knowing eloquence to a confused present. Her topical but timeless Chronicles of a Radical Hag reminds us–sometimes with a subtle touch, sometimes with gobsmacking humor–of the power of words and of silence, as well as the wonder of finding in each other what we never even knew we were missing.
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Columnist Haze Evans spent 50 years sharing her life’s story with the readers of the Granite Creek Gazette of Minnesota. Because her columns leaned left, one irate reader dubbed her a “radical hag,” a label she embraced, although many times she softened her politics by adding a fun recipe at the column’s conclusion. When Evans experiences a stroke, publisher Susan McGrath decides to republish her columns daily, starting with her early years as a young wife and ending with her delight in being able to vote for the first woman president.
Through a reliving of Evans’ witty style and unique perspective, her words touch hearts and change lives, encourages some to take chances, others to view things differently. Julie Schumacher calls the book, “A comic love letter to journalism and literature” and I couldn’t agree more, adding how invaluable a community voice at a small town newspaper can be. It’s beautifully written and heartwarming and, like Hazel Evans’ words, will delight readers no matter whether you agree with her politics or not. Hopefully, it will also encourage readers to support their local newspaper.
Not Landvik’s best work, but it was a great bit of escapism. Loved the story, but the characters of Haze and Sam were very unrealistic at times. I’m a political lefty snowflake, but the preachy, let-me-spell-it-out-for-you liberal social/political diatribes felt awkward – like they were dumped into scenes with “thump” that really took me out of the narrative. If you are politically conservative, you may not like this book. If you’re a Trumper, you’re probably going to light it on fire a quarter of the way through.
Chronicles of a Radical Hag is a wonderful story that focuses on an older woman—a very wise woman—one who imparts that wisdom through her newspaper column. Not everyone agrees with her snippets of wisdom and that’s where the fun comes in. As Haze Evans lies in a hospital bed after a stroke, the paper reprints some of her columns. Once again, her wisdom is shared and touches peoples lives.
Lorna Landvik writes a meaningful, thought-provoking story filled with her wonderful sense of humor and wit. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Chronicles of a Radical Hag, learning from Haze, and watching the people whose lives she touched change for the better.
Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with recipes) features a beautiful cover that immediately caught my attention. It’s not exactly what I was expecting but in a good way. A long time newspaper columnist for a local hometown paper suffers a stroke. She is eighty years old, so imagine how many columns she has written. In her absence, the paper decides to rerun some of her old columns. I love this premise because my local paper reruns old articles, and they ran one of me from 1996 when I was a pageant queen. It’s such a bittersweet thing to see now. It’s interesting and entertaining to see the reactions of the people in town. What if a column painted someone in a bad light? What if a present day terrible person was painted in a good light? Do people ever really change? The story shows how, regardless of past feelings, the community still stands strong. It’s eye opening and informative for some, maybe embarrising for others. Still, the past is done, and the future holds promise. History in these columns proves that people are fundamentally survivors. It’s a warm hearted read that is both sad yet inspiring. A joy to read! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
A heartfelt story told on the typical Lorna Landvik way. The characters are so we’ll developed. You want to have a conversation with them.
Lorna M
Landvik is one of my favorite authors and she didn’t disappoint me with this charming story.
Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with recipes) features a beautiful cover that immediately caught my attention. It’s not exactly what I was expecting but in a good way. A long time newspaper columnist for a local hometown paper suffers a stroke. She is eighty years old, so imagine how many columns she has written. In her absence, the paper decides to rerun some of her old columns. I love this premise because my local paper reruns old articles, and they ran one of me from 1996 when I was a pageant queen. It’s such a bittersweet thing to see now. It’s interesting and entertaining to see the reactions of the people in town. What if a column painted someone in a bad light? What if a present day terrible person was painted in a good light? Do people ever really change? The story shows how, regardless of past feelings, the community still stands strong. It’s eye opening and informative for some, maybe embarrising for others. Still, the past is done, and the future holds promise. History in these columns proves that people are fundamentally survivors. It’s a warm hearted read that is both sad yet inspiring. A joy to read! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
First off thank you to Bookish First for choosing me as a winner of this book in exchange for an honest review, as well as University of Minnesota Press for sending it to me.
This book, from the first impression I was allowed to read, looked interesting. Haze Evans is in her 80’s and has been a columnist for the past 50 years with the newspaper. She suffers a stroke and Susan (the publisher and a single mom struggling with her marriage) comes up with the idea to re-publish some of Haze’s work (some with “goodwill” recipes), hoping it will only be temporary until Haze recovers and can come back. The idea turns out to be a success.
In her day, Haze had some “trolls”, once such man deemed her liberal ideas as the “chronicles of a radical hag”, thus giving the book its title. It also becomes a running joke halfway through the book and on to the end when Haze’s fate is revealed.
Susan’s 14 year old son Sam is tasked with going through the articles, which he actually comes to enjoy. But, while reading the articles, parts of Haze’s secret past come to the surface – and part of that past has a connection to Susan.
Along the way, and once again with Haze’s wisdom – those in the town of Granite Greek start learning more about her and themselves.
While this novel held some promise – it went downhill fast for me before I was halfway into the novel. The writing was also disjointed – it was hard to place where/when I was in the story and how it related. I also felt there were far too many characters to keep up with and what their purpose/connection to the story or Haze was.
Another thing that slightly distracted me was the grammar. The story was told in third person as there was no one narrating it, but the verbs and descriptions were in first person (narrator-type).
Examples: “And, he is, holding under his arm a wooden box, which he sets on the iron-mesh patio tabletop” and “In downward dog, Susan’s view of Olivia Shelby is framed by her slightly bent knees”. That was another issue while reading. Who was the actual narrator of the story? Who was telling the story?
The BIGGEST issue was the not-so-subtle inclusion of “POLITICS” along with hot, divisive issues.
I get that politics are a way of life and for newspaper columnists I’m sure that is double. As one reviewer stated on another site – it’s like the writer infused her thoughts and political views as Haze and there was no attempt to disguise her views or her feelings.
Speaking honestly – I felt this novel was more of a one-sided, politically driven essay disguising itself as a non-fiction story. I would’ve liked that aspect revealed immediately or a warning somewhere in the novel’s description. There were too many agendas/statements in each chapter, which I am not going to spoil.
While I am an avid reader, and was an advanced reader as a child (I won several library contests), I struggled with trying to find the “point/plot” of this novel.
I read to escape politics, violence, and divisiveness on TV and social media. Unless the book is a “true-crime” or biography type novel; fictional stories; especially ones described as having “gob-smacking humor”, should either warn the reader or eliminate the element. That is where the book lost my attention. It seemed like every issue from recent years was crammed into the novel to supplement it, including a painful (and horrific) incident from 2017 that happened in my hometown.
One major incident that was skipped was 9/11 (2001). That was one I would’ve been interested to read about despite my own personal reactions. It had a profound impact on our country and society and I would think that Haze would’ve had something to say about it. Yet, there was nothing. It was completely excluded from the book.
With that said – if you enjoy “chronicles of a radical hag”, political views, agenda-driven stories, and recipes – this book is for you.
If you’re looking for a light-hearted, escapist, non-political read – I’d likely steer clear or borrow it from a library first to test the waters.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lorna Landvik’s Chronical of a Radical Hag (with recipes). It is a quick, light read with delightful characters. It made me laugh out loud, and a few passages brought tears to my eyes.
Haze, an 80+ year columnist at a local newspaper, suffers a stroke and rather than replace her the paper decided to publish previous columns along with the responses the newspaper received from those columns. With 50 years worth of material and an enviable filing system, we relive the ups and downs of Haze’s life, as well as the major and minor events in the nation’s history. Haze’s voice is clear, comical and contemplative, and it was fun to experience her perception of events as they occurred. I loved the rebuttals and discovering the stories of the characters who wrote them. The suggestion that Haze include recipes to temper her message was both funny and poignant, but their inclusion didn’t seem to further the storyline.
One of my favorite characters was Sam, the publisher’s adolescent son who was assigned to read Haze’s columns and recommend which to publish. I like how his character evolved and was thrilled that Haze’s letters made their way to his English curriculum and shaped his classmates’ perceptions.
I give this book a 4.5 star rating, however, I don’t think it will be enjoyed by readers looking for an escape from the current political climate.
Thank you to Bookish First for an ARC of Chronicles of a Radical Hag in exchange for an honest review.
Lorna Landvik has created a character beloved and influential who we only know through the reactions of the people whose lives she touches. Chronicles of a Radical Hag (With Recipes) tells Haze’s story through the columns she wrote for a Minnesota small town newspaper, her readers’ responses, through the memories people hold of her, and most interesting, how her columns reach out and speak to a generation of teenagers.
Haze was unabashedly herself in her columns. She wrote in a speaking voice, musing on her life and the people she meets and on national and world news. She garnered letters from people who enjoyed her work and from people who called her a “radical hag.” Haze embraced it all, happy to just get people thinking. And when a reader suggested she would better use the column to share recipes, she began to throw in a recipe now and then.
When Haze is felled by a stroke the newspaper publisher, Susan, begins to republish her early columns dating back to 1964. For some readers, they are a nostalgic trip into the past. Susan’s teenage son Sam has been assigned the job of reading the columns and summarizing them, with suggestions on which to rerun.
It is Sam and his generation who are surprisingly touched by Haze. She becomes real to Sam. He learns from her musings on life, love, social change, and political crisis. He sees the elderly around him in a different light. And when he discovers Haze’s hidden papers he learns a secret that will alter perceptions about Haze, the past, and the present.
Subplots follow women who struggle with broken marriages, heartbroken widows, acceptance and inclusion, disappointment and redemption.
Landvik’s book is a pleasure to read, alternately funny and poignant. And, the recipes will propel you to the kitchen!
I received a free book from the publisher through Bookish First.