Blue Rodeo

By Jo-Ann Mapson

Those who do not remember family history are condemned to repeat it...Haunted by a failed marriage, a resentful son left deaf by a bout of meningitis, and the slow death of her artistic aspirations, Margaret Yearwood takes refuge in Blue Dog, New Mexico. There, in the shadow of Shiprock Mountain, and in the unlikely arms of Owen Garrett, she finds the courage to love again, and to be loved. And she comes to realize that even the most primal wounds scar over and that there's nothing so renewable or so healing as passion. This is a bittersweet story of ordinary people who must learn to heal family bonds before they are permanently severed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061739491

Jo-Ann Mapson

Jo-Ann Mapson is the author of eight novels. She teaches fiction in the MFA program at the University of Alaska, and lives with her husband and four dogs in Anchorage, Alaska, where she is at work on a new novel. Visit her at www.joannmapson.com.

Reviews for Blue Rodeo

[mariesansone · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Blue Rodeo, a western romance, author Jo-Ann Mapson explores the question, “How do you go about leaving yourself?” As the novel opens, Maggie Yearwood leaves California to move to Blue Dog, a fictional small town set in northern New Mexico, so that her son can attend a nearby boarding school for deaf children.In Blue Dog, just about every character is trying to shed a painful past:-- Peter Yearwood, an angry 15-year-old, newly deaf following a life-threatening bout with meningitis;-- Maggie, his 40-year-old mother, bearing the scars of several miscarriages, the abandonment of her graduate-school education and art career, and divorce from a Hollywood screenwriter;-- Nori, Maggie’s sister, who deprives herself of food, love, and a fulfilling career;-- Owen Garrett, sheepherder and hardware store sales clerk, in his 50s, running from a failed marriage, the abandonment of his daughter, alcoholism, and the consequences of having killed another man in a bar fight; and-- Joe Yazzi, trying to escape his memories of the Vietnam War, social inequities, and the demons of alcohol and mental illness.Only the animals -- an assortment of dogs, sheep, and a horse – appear to lead balanced lives. As time passes, however, the characters transform themselves for the better through forgiveness, love, and caring.Mapson has keen understanding of psychology, and writes tenderly of Peter’s adjustment and personal growth. Her insights into the adult characters could be presented more subtlety, but I especially liked her description of Owen’s relationship with his blue heeler, Hopeful: “He was a good dog, smarter than most, and comfort on cold nights when what you needed most was to hear the sound of your own voice, no response necessary, just the kinds of foolish utterings that convinced you that you were still tethered to the planet.”The characters, storyline, and redemption theme in Blue Rodeo bear some similarity to those in The Horse Whisperer by Nicolas Evans, published the following year. If you enjoy regional literature, you will appreciate the authenticity of Mapson’s New Mexico.

[cherylefisher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It has been a while since I read Jo-Ann Mapson. Don't know why as I do enjoy her writing.