Your Oasis on Flame Lake (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Best friends fast approaching forty in the small Minnesota town of Flame Lake, Devera and BiDi were recently voted "Least Changed" at their twentieth...more

Best friends fast approaching forty in the small Minnesota town of Flame Lake, Devera and BiDi were recently voted "Least Changed" at their twentieth high school reunion--a label neither one finds very appealing. For each craves a change in her life: Devera desires a break from her humdrum marital routine; BiDi longs to connect with her distant fourteen-year-old daughter, the only girl on the high school hockey team--not to mention to jump-start a sex drive stuck in neutral. So when Devera's husband decides to fulfill his long-time dream of opening a nightclub in his basement, Your Oasis on Flame Lake arrives not a moment too soon. Nothing fancy, it's just a BYOB joint to hang out in, sing, dance, tell jokes, and be yourself. But then an unexpected crisis throws both families into chaos, forcing them all to take stock of their lives--and learn the power of forgiveness."A hard-to-put-down novel that finds complexity and intrigue in the simplest of everyday lives and the simple friendships that offer comfort and support . . . Very clearly character driven, the storyline evolves from the nature and motivations of the people Landvik renders."--Middlesex News"The novel builds to a well-crafted and suspenseful climax . . . [It is] a fine, original novel, leavened with humor; very readable."--Louisville Voice Tribune"The story is freckled with laughter, sadness and life in general. It will often remind you that those small things you take for granted are the ones you will remember fondly in years to come." --Rocky Mountain News"In Your Oasis on Flame Lake, each of the characters tells his/her own story. Lorna Landvik skillfully weaves each of these stories into one interesting and attention-holding book." --Marietta Journal"Some writers do comedy really well. Others pen drama best. Luckily for us, some manage to combine true wit and intense conflict in one narrative. Lorna Landvik . . . manages this feat with aplomb in her latest novel."--Boston Tab   less