A fabulous novel that transported me to Red Mountain where my tongue tingled with the taste of wines and my heart belonged to my new friends.
Rarely am I so engrossed by a novel that the world stops for a couple of days. This was one of those books. The characters were real and relatable, and the writing so polished that at times I forgot I was reading at all and felt I was there beside my new friends.
The rich cast of characters ranged in age from eight-year-old Luca to eighty-something Aunt Morgan. It doesn't matter your protagonist preferences when reading this story, you loved them all: Ottis the aging winemakers; eccentric Aunt Morgan intent on finding Ottis a woman; the famous Foresters each with their own set of issues and joys; Joan the shamanistic yogi bringing calm to the turbulent lives of her friends; Brooks rescued from the streets by Ottis and indoctrinated into to art of winemaking; Abby the nanny to Emilia and Luca Forester and assistant to Carmen Forester who becomes indispensable to the family and community; and last but not least, Margot who, after escaping her own heartache, is set on opening an inn and animal sanctuary to help the mountain flourish; and her son Jasper who grows into a mature, professional musician. Each character had plenty of point-of-view time and when their lives intertwine, you will not expect the paths they take.
I don’t read other reader reviews before I write my own but I did see a couple reviews when I downloaded the book from Amazon. Some mentioned the reader was “left hanging at the end” and the book was “a story without an ending.” I felt this to be wholly untrue. This novel was complete, at least in the short time-period spanned by the storyline. Each character’s internal conflict was resolved and decisive actions were taken. Yes, there is a sequel (and a prequel as well) as the Red Mountain residents’ lives continue, but unless the story was of epic length and everyone dies at the end, there will always be inferences and hints about the future. Red Mountain brought us to and over crucial points in every character’s development so we can either guess with some degree of certainty how it pans out for them, or decide to read the sequel and learn more.
I loved this book and was taken by surprise by Boo Walker. The fluidity of his storytelling rivals any accomplished fiction writer on the best-seller list today.