Cecily Havenshack, spouse of US diplomat Stewart Havenshack, is over-stimulated by Kathmandu’s sensory excesses. Her response is to stay very, very clean.

     As monsoon drenches Kathmandu Valley, Cecily ventures off the grounds of their rented palace to explore the old bazaar. There she meets Beau, a force of nature all to himself. Beau shanghais Cecily into a misadventure that has her wandering the lower Himalayas, where she ends up very broken and possibly the dirtiest human alive.

     Cecily seems an unlikely survivor of such a mess, but getting the mythos kicked out of her sets Cecily free.

Gae,

I read MM several months ago and put it on the shelf, not sure who to recommend it to. I enjoyed reading the book and have been trying to think of literary language to send you about the compelling narrative, unpredictable action, scenic descriptions, etc. But, I guess I was still bothered about the brutal victimization and how she seemed to accept it. I thought back to the Salvador days and how heat in the tropics has that effect of suspending common sense and reverting/converting to the sensual. Just something to break the oppressive monotony of the weather. So it must be with the monsoon.

At school there are half a dozen teachers and staff that pass books around. We don't all have the same tastes in literature, so I am always a little careful what I recommend to whom. The other day I was talking to the school secretary, Grace, who is an avid reader of anything that has print on it. We were talking about Dan Brown. My oldest son likes his books and I had just read the one about the NSA (Grace's son works for the Agency and they got a big hoot out of it) Well, to make the long story short, I gave her MM to read. The next day she had read half and was very intrigued by the characters, setting, and mystery of what was going to happen next. The next day she was done and left me a sticky note on my desk, "funny, sad, loved it" I talked with her later in the day and she said it was compelling and then we got into a discussion about the ending. Was she going for revenge (Grace's take) or to be victimized again (my possibility) The principal (also a woman) overheard our conversation and she took the book to read. I think you will have a number of fans at Clear View when it makes the rounds.

Gae, I also enjoy reading your poems on the website. And I am happy that this book has been published and it looks like others are on their way. All of the very best to you and your children,

Sincerely,
Jim Dieckmann