The View from Mount Joy

The View from Mount Joy, Lorna Landvik�s delightfully quirky and intensely moving new novel, is about a man, a supermarket, the roads not taken, and the great, unexpected pleasures found in living a good life. When hunky teenage hockey player Joe Andreson and his widowed mother move to Minneapolis, Joe falls under the seductive spell of Kristi Casey, Ole Bull High�s libidinous head cheerleader, the kind of girl a guy can�t say no to, even when saying yes guarantees trouble. Joe balances Kristi�s lustful manipulation with the down-to-earth companionship of his smart, platonic girlfriend, Darva. But it is Kristi who will prove to be a temptation (and torment) throughout Joe�s life. Years later, having once dreamed of a career in pro hockey or as a globetrotting journalist, Joe can�t believe that life has deposited him in the aisles of Haugland Foods. But he soon learns that being a grocer is like being the mayor of a small town: His constituents confide astonishing things and always appreciate the value of a hard-to-pass-up special, a free toy for a well-behaved youngster, a pie for the best rendition of �Alfie,� or simply Joe�s generous dispensing of the milk of human kindness. For Joe, everyday life is its own roller-coaster ride, and all he wants to do is hold on tight. The path Kristi has charged down, on the other hand, is as wild as Joe�s is tame�or at least that�s how it appears to the outside world. But who has really risked more? Who has lived more? And who is truly happy? As Joe discovers�in this dramatic, heartbreaking, and hilarious novel�sometimes people are lucky enough to be standing in the one place where the view of the world is breathtaking, if only they�ll open their eyes to all there is to see. The View from Mount Joy is truly glorious: a warm, wonderful picture of life as seen from the deepest places in the heart.