Welcome to Litsy!

When the college student comes home for fall break and brings seasonal leg warmers for the dog. 😂 Doesn‘t Gatsby look festive and very 80s sitting next to my current book? #schnauzersoflitsy

Waffling between 3.5 stars and 4. I know. But. This was a sad story, a lot of loss and sadness in these pages. The back of the book has Book Club Discussion Questions and those were thinkers! This would make a great group read where the symbolism in some parts could be dissected and chewed over with the group.

So after all that waffling about reading those 4 books I gathered, I still couldn‘t decide what to read from that stack so I downloaded The Signal Flame from the library. 😜 Not too bad so far. It‘s still not the meaty all-consuming read I looking for, but‘s it‘s good. I expect it will become sadder as the story moves forward

A quiet, compelling story of a close-knit family, deep friendship and a small Pennsylvania community touched by tragedy. Loosely connected to his previous novel, THE SOJOURN (which is also excellent) but don't have to read in order. One of my top 10 reads of 2017 #libfaves17

Such a gorgeous book. A family deals with loss, alienation and redemption throughout several generations. Set in the Endless Mountains located in Pennsylvania, this mountain home is as much a character as the people who inhabit it. Through austere yet powerful description, Krivak sets his reader squarely in the family homestead as well as the family's history. (Think Kent Haruf meets Ron Rash.) 5⭐️s

*sigh* Reading this is like sinking into ultra soft sheets beneath a down comforter on a chilly night.

I think this jus came out and was able to get from my library's overdrive collection. Sounds pretty good.

'That's the nature of loss, he said, and lifted his head and looked at his grandson. You are both lessened and left behind. There's nothing to be done but the work that's been given, so the part of you that's lessened doesn't become lost as well.'

Quietly profound, The Signal Flame is a tender meditation on loss and moving forward. Consistently heartbreaking but then heart-mending, building your heart up to be fuller than it was before. Familial drama and the cost of war are the backbone of the story, but has a broader appeal than that as the central theme of grief is so universal. Highly recommended!