Product Description
Clear heart is a grade of lumber – and a state of mind. In this joyful, down-to-earth novel, Wally and Juke seek clarity and good wood while building a mansion for a dot-com multimillionaire in California. As the dot-com’s stock keeps rising, the size of the house – and the owner’s ego – keep growing. Wally and Juke may be into something that’s over their heads. Meanwhile, Wally and Juke meet women who have remodeling designs of their own – on them. Laying a go… More >>
#1 by J. Taylor on May 11, 2010 - 7:53 pm
Just discovered this writer, via his blog. I’m ordering his book now, and looking forward to its arrival with the same intensity as when I discovered The Egg and I, or Robin Cody’s book about paddling a canoe, or Colin Fletcher’s book, The Thousand-Mile Summer. This is the first Amazon review I’ve ever written before reading the book, but I tried to write a similar book about hand tools and had a small success, so the ever-vigilant Amazon-in-the-Sky people just might let me get away with it …
The reviews here, all five stars, turned my 99-percent-sure decision to buy this book immediately, comma, the final click to 100. And I’m absolutely sure that I’ll enjoy it, and that it will helpful and life-changing. Call it a hunch, based on seven generations of Taylors who had second sight. So yeah, I’m pretty sure this is going to be a great book, and a wise purchase. More later.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by A. Randles on May 11, 2010 - 9:30 pm
This is an excellent book. I listened to it on podiobooks dot com. All of the characters are memorable and real.
I recommend it for any adult.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Gail Posey on May 11, 2010 - 11:07 pm
Joe Cottonwood has written a novel full of Characters with a capital C.
I listened to Joe read the book (free at[....], thanks Joe and Susan!) and after only a chapter or two was worrying over injuries and bad life decisions; enjoying the small machine races and wishing I could carry a bag of cement and attend the Friday barbecues.
Clear Heart is profound, sometimes intense, and always entertaining. I really love this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Kari A. Hultman on May 12, 2010 - 1:14 am
Clear Heart is about a 55 year old ex-hippy carpenter named Wally–his bond with his workmen, love for his work, respect for wood, relationship with a “perky Presbyterian” and her kids, Job-like patience, and determination to build the perfect house, despite seemingly insurmountable odds.
But more than that–it’s about the connection and interaction between men who are true craftsmen, their good-natured joking, routines and habits (like sometimes getting too friendly with female clients), temperaments, and respect for one another’s capabilities. It’s male bonding at its finest.
And it’s filled with endearing characters like Juke, FrogGirl, Abe, Opal, and fast-paced, nail-biting mishaps.
It’s about second chances, belief in the things that truly matter, mentoring, teaching, and friendship.
And it made me want to ask Wally: “You hiring?”
Kari Hultman
http://villagecarpenter.blogspot.com
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by voxsusanna on May 12, 2010 - 1:20 am
“Clear Heart” opens dramatically on a construction site and then winds through the lives, hands, and hearts of its characters like a two-lane mountain road: head-long down the straight-aways, carefully through the shade-dappled curves, and gently around slippery, leaf-covered hairpins. I loved the ride.
The plot in “Clear Heart” emerges from its clearly drawn and convincing characters in the San Francisco Bay area: construction workers, high-tech entrepreneurs, Hells Angels, engineers, immigrants, students, and suburbanites. Will Wally, main character and home-builder, survive — physically, emotionally, and financially — his construction of a multimillionaire’s custom home in the hills above Silicon Valley? His clients, family, construction crew, and love-interest Opal support and sabotage him all the way to the last page.
The characters are portrayed with humor and respect, and I enjoyed watching all of them work through their own problems. Every one of them is believable, from 2-year-old Ronny to 55-year-old Wally and everybody in between. There’s emotional suspense, from teen pregnancy to middle-age romance; moral predicament, from financial sabotage to marital infidelity; and physical danger, from accident to assault.
Through it all, “Clear Heart” is as textured and real and carefully crafted as a handmade wooden jewelry box. The book is honest and built to last, just as Wally would want it.
Author Joe Cottonwood’s home town of La Honda, California — just over the western hills from Santa Clara Valley — is better known as the former home of counter-culture novelist Ken Kesey. Cottonwood’s experience as a carpenter and home-builder in the area, and as author of seven previously published novels, helps him make the book deliciously detailed and convincing. It must be his own heart that makes it so fun and satisfying.
(Note that there’s some strong language and explicit action in this book. Cottonwood has written novels for youngsters, but this one is VERY adult.)
Rating: 5 / 5