Jim Misko's latest book,
The Path of the Wind, is his best yet in my opinion. Which is saying
something because his others have earned him some well-deserved praise.
So good, in fact, that if limited to a one-word review, it's a no-brainer what
I'd choose: Authentic.
The author's history is
one of a jack of all trades, which undoubtedly helps him to flesh out
characters so well. He's trod where they have. And it shows.
In The Path of the Wind, Misko so nails the people that I found myself nodding
throughout and also affixing real-life names and faces from my 33-year teaching
career to those personalities he included in the book.
His eye for detail
doesn't stop with the characters. As a recently-retired teacher, I could
relate to everything. A small, rural school facing declining
enrollment. Check. Piling assignments on the new guy, including
areas not in his wheelhouse, perhaps up to and including driving the school
bus. Check. Small-town politics, curmudgeonly control-freak
administrators, nosy busybodies...check, check, check.
I could relate too
closely to the energetic, conquer-the-world young teacher whose brash
get-er-done attitude runs headlong into those who would rather see things
remain the same, or even want the school to wither and die. Trying to
keep a household intact on a pittance while burning the candle at both ends--a
typical teacher scenario--all while mostly fending off the aggressive advances
from a hormonal senior girl. The eternal educational battle between
common sense and power-hungry individuals. It's all here...and
more.
And while this book is
set decades ago, it is often said in this business that the same general themes
keep reappearing as a new bandwagon glosses them up and gives them a new
name. This story is age-old, and yet eternally fresh. And very well
done. Trials, tribulations, and in the end, a delicate balancing act of
tragedy and triumph...an outcome that is a little of both.
Bryce Lambley, Fremont, Nebraska
Author of PLATTE RIVER DRIFTWOOD
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