In his new short novel, Working It Out (Ridgeway Press, $10.95 postpaid), Smith paints a stark, completely believable and disarming picture of two of the most appealing characters in modern day fiction. Mario and Maria Lorenz are wonderful representatives of the fight for dignity and a place of importance in today's America. Undergoing drastic changes in its industrial heartland, industry has changed with much ill effect for those whose efforts to achieve a measure of equity have been continuously eroded as once profitable plants close in management's unending efforts to cut costs at the expense of their workers.
Smith, who teaches at Firelands College in Huron, also is an editor and publisher at Bottom Dog Press, which has given voice to the concerns of these "common" people, who are uncommon in their achievements against huge odds. With Working It Out Smith has fashioned a novel that should resonate with readers nationwide. It deserves the attention of all who love America and cherish those hard-working individuals whose labors made this country great. Their abandonment by many industrial giants not only is devastating to the affected families, but tears at the very fabric of what made the United States a unique environment on this troubled old globe.
Writing with simplicity and straightforward prose, Smith delineates the fascinating but common story of Mario, who, as the novel begins, seeks a teaching job as his beloved wife Maria nears the birth of their first child. Mario is the educated one in his blue collar family, a fact that has caused resentment from his family, uneasy with his "educated ways."
The plot unfolds without major explosions, yet moves inexorably toward a satisfying conclusion. Smith writes in a seemingly simple style that keeps the reader turning pages, eager to find out what happens next. These characters get under the skin, their dreams and ambitions so familiar but in these changed times unlikely to be reached.
Working It Out is a distinguished achievement, a marked climb up the ladder for its talented and devoted author, who deserves wider attention and the promotion that could be granted by a major publisher.
The book may be obtained directly from the publisher by sending $10.95 to Ridgeway Press, P.O. Box 120, Roseville, MI 48066, or by ordering from book stores.
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