Item: Muskrat Ramble
Rating: 5
Author: Gina

Muskrat Ramble by Mim Eichmann is the sequel to her debut novel, A Sparrow Alone. As the first book is wrapping up a book blog tour with The Write Reads, I’m closing out the tour with a preview of the sequel, which is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Thank you to the author for providing me an advance copy of the book for review.

Muskrat Ramble by Mim Eichmann
Published by Living Springs Publishers on 03/23/2021
Genres: African-American Literature, Family Life, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Multi-Cultural, Women's Literature
Format: ARC, eBook
Pages: 363

Seamlessly threaded into the emerging hot jazz music scene that captured the hearts of music lovers in 1913 New Orleans, are the themes of the tightening Jim Crow era, World War I and its aftermath of economic ills, political upheavals and epidemics, and the choices, heartbreaks and ultimate decisions of women of all races...

At its heart, however, "Muskrat Ramble" is the saga of a young woman's unwavering devotion to the child she was forced to abandon at birth.

The much-anticipated sequel to "A Sparrow Alone"!

Buy on Amazon
Add to Goodreads

Source: Received from the author or publisher for review.

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Muskrat Ramble (A Sparrow A...Shop on Amazon A Sparrow Alone Shop on Amazon

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My thoughts on Muskrat Ramble by Mim Eichmann

Muskrat Ramble by Mim Eichmann is not just historical fiction. It’s an incredibly detailed account of real events and people and how they might have had an effect on fictional characters.

The novel is the sequel to A Sparrow Alone but will stand alone. The author has outdone herself with research into the early Jazz era, social mores, and most importantly, the plight of women and people of color. All these issues are woven into a saga spanning decades.

The main character, Hannah Barrington, takes us on an intimate journey through her life as she interacts with prominent personalities from the period. She holds back nothing in telling her tale, including the many mistakes she feels she has made.

We travel with her to New Orleans as Jazz is born, to Chicago in the time of Capone, and eventually back to Colorado, where her story began. Along the way, we meet fabulous characters, real and fictional.

Thank goodness the author gives us a bibliography at the end because the book left me with a desire to know more about many of the storylines, from encephalitis lethargica to the criminal treatment of the mentally ill.

Fans of historical fiction, jazz, all the way to Creole cooking should find something to love about this book.

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Muskrat Ramble by Mim Eichmann

About Mim Eichmann

Mim Eichmann has found that her creative journey has taken her down many exciting, interwoven pathways. For well over two decades she was known primarily in the Chicago area as the artistic director and choreographer of Midwest Ballet Theatre and director of its home, Midwest Ballet Academy, bringing full-length professional ballet performances to thousands of dance lovers every year and was the recipient of many arts’ programming grants. A desire to become involved again in the folk music world brought about the creation of her acoustic quartet Trillium, now in its 15th year, a folk band well known for its eclectic repertoire performing throughout the Midwest that has also released four CDs. She’s also written the lyrics and music for two award-winning original children’s CDs, “Why Do Ducks Have Webby Toes?” and “Wander Down Beyond the Rainbow” and occasionally schedules concerts of her children’s music and movement programs.

Always captivated by the writings, diaries, and journals of late 19th century women, as well as that era’s economic, social and political upheavals, Ms. Eichmann has now put pen to paper and the historical fiction novel she has been passionately researching, its rich synopsis gradually evolving over many years, has finally become a reality. We hope you’ll enjoy “A Sparrow Alone” and its sequel, “Muskrat Ramble.”

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Author Commentary:

Kate Chopin’s controversial novel “The Awakening” was published with an extremely small print run in 1899 and was so poorly received that the work was out of print until 1968. Many decades ago, my American Authors college professor – male, but one who fortuitously included the oft-neglected female authors buried beneath the usual pile of Hemingways, Faulkners and Steinbecks — first led me to the works of Mrs. Chopin, along with that of Katherine Anne Porter, Edith Wharton, Carson McCullers and many others. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Chopin’s “The Awakening” actually appears as an important, influential character in my novel “Muskrat Ramble”. Like my fictional main character, Hannah Barrington, I’ve found that my repeated readings of Chopin’s novel over these many years has caused the depth of my appreciation to consistently evolve, something I believe that many women experience as they move from carefree young womanhood to the struggles we face as wives, mothers, grandmothers and widows. There’s an amusing modern day expression: ‘life got in the way while I was making plans’ which is exactly what’s occurred with Hannah and so many of the other fictional and historic characters surrounding her.

Out of this very small list of historic figures from my two novels — Winfield Scott Stratton, Pearl DeVere, Edward “Kid” Ory, Sissieretta Jones, Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong — I’ll wager you’ve only recognized one or possibly two names. I hope that you’ll find all of their lives inspirational, however, as we move forward into 2021 and beyond.