DONALD LYSTRA

According to Hemingway, "The writer's job is to tell the truth." He also said. "All you have to do is write one true sentence." Donald Lystra is obviously a Hemingway devotee, as evidenced not only by his writing style, but also by his relentless efforts to create characters that are true to life, as well as situations and storylines that also ring true. He did this in his award-winning debut novel, SEASON OF WATER AND ICE, continued it in his story collection, SOMETHING THAT FEELS LIKE TRUTH, and continues this commitment in his newest novel, SEARCHING FOR VAN GOGH. And it works, as I was immediately drawn into his tale of Nathan and Audrey, as unlikely a pair as Lenny and George or, more recently, Joe Buck and Ratso Rizzo (names familiar to readers and moviegoers).

Of the pair, seventeen year-old Nathan is the innocent, a whiz in mathematics and electricity, newly on his own in 1963, living in a rooming house and working in an auto plant in Grand Rapids while pursuing a new interest, trying to paint like Van Gogh. Audrey is a few years older, living in a rundown hotel and working a drugstore lunch counter, and, on the side, offering guided tours of the city's downtown and "companionship" to lonely businessmen from out-of-town. They meet when Nathan is painting, on the bank of the Grand River, and Audrey, watching from the street, offers him advice on "color theory." She reveals her own dream of being a furniture designer, and how, although she's unable to afford the Kendall School of Design, she sits in the hallway outside classroom doors there and listens in.

There are, however, darker sides to both their stories. In Nathan's case it is an uneasy relationship with his stern father and the recent, mysterious death of his older brother, Gary, on a firing range at an Upper Peninsula Army camp where he was stationed. Gary, we learn was "different" - a highly sensitive and very talented pianist, forced into the Army by their father to make "a man" out of him.

With Audrey, it's a little darker. Nathan gradually learns she'd had a child out of wedlock and was estranged from her parents. There's more to it, but I don't do spoilers. In any case, there are a couple of road trips here, a short, nearly disastrous one to Newaygo, Audrey's hometown, and a much longer one, to the top of the UP, to the Army post where Gary died. Both of these trips contribute to Nathan's 'education,' sexually and emotionally, but the longer one is especially meaningful, as it takes place concurrently with the national shock and tragedy of the assassination of the President.

As was true of Danny, the teenage protagonist of Lystra's first book, Nathan too is a true innocent, trying earnestly to learn the ways of the world without hurting anyone along the way. There is a scene here, in which Nathan has an encounter with a prostitute in a cheap hotel, that immediately calls to mind a similar situation with Holden Caulfield in CATCHER IN THE RYE. And of the two characters, although Nathan is a couple years older, he seems even more innocent than Holden. Yeah, almost that hesitant, that fearful - of crossing that line from childhood to the adult world.

In the end though, Nathan does cross that line. There is a sadness in all that he learns, but he keeps on with his painting, even knowing that -

"... I'd never find Van Gogh's passion, but it - that failure - didn't seem to matter. The world as it existed was enough. For me and for that time it was enough. I didn't need to change it to make it interesting or to find out what was true."

There is a deliberate carefulness, a delicacy even, that characterizes Lystra's writing, even as it incorporates the twin influences of Hemingway and Salinger. I'm not sure how he does it, but it works to the nth degree. And in the process, he is doing that writer's job - telling the truth, one true sentence at a time. This is fine writing of the highest caliber. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (mais)

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Set in Michigan during the tumultuous closing weeks of 1963, "Searching for Van Gogh" is a heart-wrenching story of two young souls bravely navigating life's challenges.

A young woman is inspired by a cinematic heroine to find meaning in a world that has cast her aside.

A teenage math and science prodigy turns to art as he struggles with the pain of losing his beloved elder brother.

Their unlikely friendship is a beacon of hope, reminding us that in tough times the best defense is the help we can give to one another.

Reminiscent of timeless classics like Ordinary People and To Kill a Mockingbird, this story celebrates the power of friendship and understanding in an often unforgiving world.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Do you need a break from the nastiness and unapologetic hatemongering of the world outside your door? Do you want to take a trip back to a world still slowly moving into full awareness of how cruel it has become?

Here's you a read.

Two people carrying a lot of sadness find each other at very vulnerable moments in each one's life. Their entire worlds have narrowed into coping with loss and loneliness. Then...they meet, they connect, and they tentatively learn to communicate.

What on Earth is happening to this old man, I can hear you wondering. This kind of story never appeals to him! Quite true, it is not my native land, well-trodden paths to and fro everywhere one looks in my catalog of reads. I was pleased to read something with the personal stakes of this story...grief, loss, coming to terms with the way the world works, how families fail each other at crucial times. The prose is direct and unpretentious, the voices of the characters distinct, and that plus the storyline and setting gave me what I craved most: Investment and involvement with neither anger nor outrage, just the pleasant sense that this time the world handed these two hurting souls the balm instead of the liniment.

I needed an emotionally real story, uncomplicatedly told, with people in believable emotional pain that was not going to cause Disaster. I needed that story to end believably well without absurd, over-the-top machinations, like it does in the happier passages of Real Life. And I got what I needed. I am glad I read this direct, involving, kind story.

So, kindness seekers, come to Donald Lystra's doorstep and be fed.… (mais)

I enjoyed Searching for Van Gogh: A Novel by Donald Lystra. The writing is simple and straightforward: “I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and Audrey ordered a tuna fish salad sandwich with lettuce but no tomato.” The book is not dull or without meaning, however. Lystra’s style is, to me, similar to Hemingway or Salinger. I appreciate all he conveys without excess language. The characters are deeply developed and highly empathetic. The settings are vivid without lavish descriptions. This is a coming of age story, a discover oneself and comprehend the world story. It is a charged novel by an exceptional author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bayview Press LLC for the chance to read and review this ARC.… (mais)