First reviews of THE PURSE MAKER’S CLASP

A Dance of Four Characters

The novel, "The Purse Maker's Clasp" is a riveting, in depth story of four characters who have interesting and complex personalities and personal and professional journeys that intersect in unsuspected ways. The author, John Escher, uses wonderful descriptions and metaphorical language that allow the reader to enjoy the story on many levels. His use of language, characterization and symbolism are detailed and poignant. The story takes place in two basic locations, Virginia and Maine, and Mr. Escher uses details of the culture and description of the topography in both places to enhance the story. The characters represent aspects of both American and Hungarian culture and interest, so the juxtaposition and commonalities of these disparate countries make the book even more enticing. This novel is a serious piece of literature and would be enjoyable and yet challenging for readers at any level.

—Edith Snively

A Very Good Read

I was soon drawn into the swirl of interdependency and desire that connects Escher’s primary characters in "The Purse Maker’s Clasp."  The central metaphor of the novel both draws the players toward and away from each other as a variety of forces affect their choices.  In the end we are left to determine whether they survive or succumb to the powerful currents.  This is a compelling book--well worth the read.  —Gretchen Snow Ruff

Hungarians

A new novel about Hungarians living in the United States is available in The Kindle Store at Amazon Books. THE PURSE MAKER'S CLASP by John Escher starts with the purchase of a small wooden skyscraper in Eastport, Maine. The buyer, an immigrant named Molnar Jucika, has earned her money through the sale of woven handbags at crafts fairs up and down America's east coast. Before Maine, Jucika, pursued by her cousin by marriage Molnar Andras, and also by the book's protagonist Carter Neuse, lives in Woodpop, Virginia in a rundown pistachio green house full of snakes by the side of a gurgling stream. Andras, who starts out as a tennis pro, eventually becomes a college president and moves away to the state of Montana accompanied by his American wife Mitzi (or Mici) Schnarrs, a horsewoman who loves all things Hungarian. The two parallel love stories include time spent in eastern Hungary and intersect in Eastport, where twirls The Old Sow, second biggest whirlpool in the world. All characters in this unique book seem caught in inexorable tidal currents dragging them toward the whirlpool, where at the bottom, they are able to talk with one another about the non-doctrinaire things in life that hold intrinsic meaning and resonance.  –Roger Bart