Title: Uff Da! Summer Solstice at Midnight Sun
Author: Karen Ganger
Publisher: URLink Print and Media
ISBN: 978-1-64753-419-6
Pages: 252
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Susan Brown
Hollywood Book Reviews
Uff da is one of those cultural expressions like Aloha in Hawaiian, or Prego in Italian, or Oy Vey in Yiddish that represents a multitude of feelings. It’s used as a means of conveying surprise, astonishment, annoyance, fear, happiness — plus so many more emotions from the residents in this charming narrative about Scandinavian life in small town Minnesota.
In this follow-up to Author Karen Ganger’s, Uff Da! What’s Happening in Midnight Sun, Ms. Ganger continues her chronicle of the comings and goings and trials and tribulations of the town’s citizens. Their lives are full of adventure and intrigue and absurdity, accentuating the convergence of old and new traditions.
The story is written as a series of vignettes, each showcasing a different storyline. There’s the Viking Pillagers, four senior men who win a motorhome in a pinochle tournament and decide, which much encouragement from their wives to take it on a two-week camping trip. From the moment they get on the road, it’s an enlightening experience that puts them through their survival paces.
Other chapters recount the exploits of a retired supermodel who marries her true love in a double ring ceremony with her son; a mayor who embarks on a city beautification plan; a mysterious woman, who’d been locked away in a sanitarium for 30 years, that shows up with a unbelievable story to tell; an ethereal medicine man who has the power to heal and foretell prophesies; a beleaguered wife relishing her made-to-suit she-shed; activities at the Old Folks Only Beach; and Viking Tavling, a Summer Solstice contest that pits participants, vying for the King of the Vikings title, against each other in a series of strange and unusual activities.
Through it all a unifying theme, that all of the characters share, is the spirit of uff da! An exclamation that captures a shrug-of-the-shoulders acceptance to life. There is no down time in this book. The author sets a quick pace that keeps readers engaged. The dialogue is fun, witty and filled with the quirky qualities of her characters. There’s a good dose of the Scandinavian way-of-life mixed into the storyline too, including dozens of recipes of traditional dishes with explicit instructions for success.
What the author does so well, though, and what resonated with me was how likable the characters in this book are. The town is one big loving, dysfunctional family filled with people who care about each other and who take care of and look out for each other. This spirit of community is just a wonderful reminder of goodness. At the end of the story, I was happy to have met all the characters. Hopefully, another book is in the works.