A Voice for Independent Authors

“You can kill a book quicker by your silence than by a bad review.” ― E.A. Bucchianeri — “You can kill a book quicker by your silence than by a bad review.”
― E.A. Bucchianeri

REVIEWING TODAY – THE FINEST HAT IN THE WHOLE WORLD BY COLLEEN A. PARKINSON

Only the finest writers can accomplish what Colleen A. Parkinson does in her fascinating historical novel The Finest Hat in the Whole World. Sometimes, rarely, a reader feels overwhelmingly privileged to read just such a book. To Kill a Mockingbird comes to mind. And there is a reassuring resonance with this major classic to be found in Ms. Parkinson’s book – both in the utterly endearing relationship between the rebellious, once-abused girl Phena and her devoted Uncle Des with whom she lives, having been willfully abandoned by her stoically indifferent father and her abusive, mentally-ill mother – and also in the rarefied atmosphere of its moralistic message.

The year is 1917, the United States is just about to enter the devastating first World War, and Des – who is a bar owner in small town USA – is too old at thirty to be drafted. Due to a situation markedly more complex than it initially seems, 9 year old Phena is given into the custody of Des. She too is more complex than she at first appears. Unnecessary to mention: their relationship is nothing but complex, but it is based clearly on devotion and adoration, which becomes a primary driving force behind the deep, compelling, twenty-year long plot development in this masterpiece of writing. Remarkably, even the most difficult plot elements are handled with immeasurable grace and credibility.

Every character in Colleen A. Parkinson’s book The Finest Hat in the Whole World is finely drawn and made absolutely real and psychologically credible and intriguing, for the author often elicits individual personality quirks out of experiences subconsciously endured because they happened so long ago, sometimes leaving subtle emotional scars that linger into adulthood. However, what elevates her writing into the realm of truly great fiction – award-winning fiction – is Ms. Parkinson’s flawless ability to evoke a vivid sense of presence through her stunning use of lean but gorgeous prose, crafted as meticulously as one might prune and nurture a perfectly-attended-to, thoroughly stunning victory garden … or a daughter.