Comments on: Stewball – by Peter Bowen

By: Regina MT. Says:

Regina MT. Says: — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:19:06 +0000

Mr. Bowen ….We need a new book…Do my reading in the winter. Love your stuff.. Have read all your work..

By: Anna OG

Anna OG — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:43:39 +0000

It has been a while but I think the boy’s father planned to have them run off together get married and he would get his hands on her money since she was a minor married to his son. hmmm now have to go find the Tumbler. it was a bit vague.

By: Diana Werner

Diana Werner — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:03:48 +0000

Would someone please explain the ending of The Tumbler to me? Sorry to sound dumb but I can’t figure it out. Were Julie’s boyfriend and his father trying to kill Julie? What for? How did their shipyard being broke come into it? Did the boy think he would inherit Julie’s money? Why? I’m totally lost here.

By: Lisa Barrett

Lisa Barrett — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:23:02 +0000

I love every word of the Du Pre series and find the “stilted, tired dialect” that Mr. Holt mentions to be a very accurate representation of the way the Metis’ sound when they are speaking English, but thinking Indian. I have spent hundreds of happy hours playing music with these people and might suggest that he drink a few more whiskey ditches with them and see if that sharpens his ear for dialect. Kudos to Peter Bowen for writing about the Metis’ in a style that acknowledges the dignity and grace of these fine people. Any writer who sits his butt in the chair long enough to write 15 novels in a series is to be respected. A larger publisher OUGHT to pick up a proven winner like him.

By: John Holt

John Holt — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:48:18 +0000

bourbon (preferably cheap), water (from a ditch), ice (optional)

By: ray garner

ray garner — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:46:26 +0000

i like the books just fine. i just can’t find out how to make a whiskey ditch

By: Jon Thompson

Jon Thompson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:57:25 +0000

I agree with anonymous. Never heard of “John Holt,” but I’ll buy anything Peter Bowen writes. I’ve got the entire Gabriel Dupre series, so have read Stewball, Ash Child and the others. I don’t recall being at all bothered by the problems Mr. Holt delights in pointing out in Stewball, and I don’t recall finding “lassitude” in any of the others. I only recall straight-ahead story-telling with an amazing sense of place, pace and personality, and with a set of memorable characters.

What Mr. Holt refers to as “manufacturered adult baby talk” is just one more thing that Mr. Bowen does differently from anyone else: He has his characters speak in dialect, apparently something this reviewer hasn’t thought of. That’s just one more reason why Mr. Bowen’s novels are so compelling. Not everyone speaks in the same West Coast dialect that I hear in Los Angeles.

Further, if Mr. Bowen is suffering financial challenges, why is that Mr. Holt’s business? Why is it ours? It amounts to be a mean-spirited airing of what would appear to be dirty financial laundry. It may indeed be relevant to Mr. Bowen’s publishing deal – and I understand he no longer is represented by St. Martins and is searching for another publisher – but it has nothing to do with a review of this novel.

The one thing I most want to know is, when can I get my hands on Mr. Bowen’s next novel? I hope it’s soon, and I hope it’s successful. Mr. Holt’s next novel? Who cares?

By: anonymous

anonymous — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:54:47 +0000

I love all the Gabriel DuPre books and I have never heard of an author called John Holt. Peter Bowen, of course–John Holt, never. The review sounds like sour grapes to me. If St. Martin’s Press is so tight with money, Bowen should change publishers.