Magdalena Ball Reviews

Added October 5, 2007

Sleep before Evening

Author: Magdalena Ball
Publisher: Lightning Source, Inc
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: July 2007
Genre: Fiction: Contemporary/Mainstream
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $17.99
ISBN-10: 1904492967
ISBN-13: 9781904492962
Reviewer: Aaron Paul Lazar

Life isn't perfect, but seventeen-year-old Marianne Cotton is blessed with a loving and devoted grandfather who carefully schools her in piano, the arts, and literature. An "A" student, Marianne basks in his attention while eclipsing memories of her deadbeat dad. Lily Cotton, Marianne's self-involved, bipolar mother, loves her daughter within her own limitations. The needy artist frequently requires tending when moods swing, forcing Marianne to table her own needs and emotions to care for her. A series of men has invaded their lives, providing a less than perfect environment for Marianne.

The brilliant young woman manages to survive until her senior year in high school, when just before finals, Eric Cotton collapses into a vegetative state. Although Marianne is convinced her grandfather is still alive inside, the decision to pull the plug is made by Lily and her current husband, Russell. Marianne interprets this act as a deep betrayal, and reels in shock when she's notified that her grandfather has been removed from life support.

Faced with spiritual solitude, Marianne starts to unravel. She falls for a handsome and charismatic street musician named Miles, who lures her into a world of sex, drugs, and smoky club blues. Marianne's pain is diminished with each fix she accepts from her new group of exotic and seemingly attractive friends. Armed with a fake ID, school recedes and her pending NYU scholarship seems unimportant. Marianne lands a job at a sleazy bar, serving drinks to overweight groping men and pushing through the motions with more mental lethargy as her craving for absolution and oblivion careens forward, driving her to a nearly lethal intravenous heroin addiction.

Magdalena Ball's writing, insightful and deep, engages the reader from page one. Her characters linger long after the story resolves to its perfect conclusion. Highly recommended for a glimpse into the motivations behind heroin abuse, as well as thoroughly alluring family drama, Sleep Before Evening is powerfully addictive in its own right.

Aaron Paul Lazar resides in Upstate New York with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in-law, two dogs, and four cats. After writing in the early morning hours, he works as an electrophotographic engineer at Kodak, in Rochester, New York. Additional passions include vegetable, fruit, and flower gardening; preparing large family feasts; photographing his family, gardens, and the breathtakingly beautiful Genesee Valley; cross-country skiing across the rolling hills; playing a distinctly amateur level of piano, and spending "time" with the French Impressionists whenever possible. Although he adored raising his three delightful daughters, Mr. Lazar finds grandfathering his "two little buddies" to be one of the finest experiences of his life.

Double Forté is the founding book of the LeGarde Mystery series and was released in January, 2005. Upstaged, the second, was released in October, 2005. His third, Tremolo: cry of the loon, was released via Twilight Times Books under the Paladin Timeless Imprint in fall, 2006. The first book in his second series, Moore Mysteries, will be released later in 2007. Mr. Lazar is currently working on his eleventh book, Lady Blues. He is a regular columnist for FMAM (Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine) and The Back Room, A Cozy Retreat for Writers and Readers, and has been published often in the Absolute Write Newsletter. Contact him at: Aaron.Lazar@yahoo.com, visit his blog at www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com, or stop by his website at www.legardemysteries.com.

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Added May 14, 2007

Quark Soup

Author: Magdalena Ball
Publisher: Picaro Press
Available At: www.compulsivereader.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Nonfiction: Poetry
Format: Trade Paper
Price: $7.00
ISBN-10: 1-920957-23-5
Reviewer: Aaron Paul Lazar

Quark Soup is a cryptic collection of alluring poetry that provides fodder for deep introspection, while personifying planets and attributing humans with celestial properties. The subjects of childbirth and supernovas are cleverly interwoven, often cloaking the author's intent. In great mystery, cosmic wonders flow within love and relationships, titillating the reader's imagination.

Examine this segment from Coil of Life:

Hurling matter in all directions,
the particles of the embryonic universe
rush away from each other.
In the beginning there was nothing
but plasma soup. Less than a second later
pure energy became
a slippery birth cry still measurable
fifteen billion years later
in the decaying echoes of space.

Is the author referring to the birth of a child, or a universe?

In this excerpt from Aurora, Ms. Ball appears to be pleading with a cold-hearted scientist who has lost the capacity to perceive beauty and perhaps also the ability to show affection. Her earnest entreaty follows.

***

If I could capture that spectrum
the atomic neon sign of your lost wonder
and feed it to you on a spoon
when your lonely vigil against
poverty and incompetence
becomes ball and chain
I'd give up my own food
stand with my back to the solar wind
close my eyes to beauty
to keep you warm.

I'd be your personal aurora
your talisman against the dark lure of ennui
an electrical current charging
your ionosphere.

***

Science and passion fold together in masterful imagery as love, loss, and motherhood slip in and out of the image streams captured by Ms. Ball.

The subject of loss is tackled in several pieces, most particularly in Green, which addresses the loss of a mother to cancer. Examine this excerpt:

my fingers worked independent
from intent
tracing the landscape of her arched back
as she bent over her porcelain taskmaster
begging the drugs which she couldn't swallow
to kill the disease
indistinguishable from her own cells

***

Honest emotion covers themes like lonely childhood, the perfect universe, an impersonal lover, and the infinite joy of parenthood. With skillful word tapestries, the poems are infused with the wisdom of deep thought and experience, a rare commodity in such a young author. The collection is highly recommended, and will be treasured on this reviewer's bookshelf.

Aaron Paul Lazar resides in Upstate New York with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in-law, two dogs, and four cats. After writing in the early morning hours, he works as an electrophotographic engineer at Kodak, in Rochester, New York. Additional passions include vegetable, fruit, and flower gardening; preparing large family feasts; photographing his family, gardens, and the breathtakingly beautiful Genesee Valley; cross-country skiing across the rolling hills; playing a distinctly amateur level of piano, and spending "time" with the French Impressionists whenever possible. Although he adored raising his three delightful daughters, Mr. Lazar finds grandfathering his "two little buddies" to be one of the finest experiences of his life.

Double Forté is the founding book of the LeGarde Mystery series and was released in January, 2005. Upstaged, the second, was released in October, 2005. His third, Tremolo: cry of the loon, was released via Twilight Times Books under the Paladin Timeless Imprint in fall, 2006. The first book in his second series, Moore Mysteries, will be released later in 2007. Mr. Lazar is currently working on his eleventh book, Lady Blues. He is a regular columnist for FMAM (Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine) and The Back Room, A Cozy Retreat for Writers and Readers, and has been published often in the Absolute Write Newsletter. Contact him at: Aaron.Lazar@yahoo.com, visit his blog at www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com, or stop by his website at www.legardemysteries.com.

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